Armed conflict is a situation of violent, sustained violence between or among States and non-State armed groups. It is a key category that allows for the identification of situations where international humanitarian law applies. Moreover, it provides a common reference point for the development and implementation of policies, programmes, and operations intended to mitigate and address its impacts.
The use of lethal force by one or more parties makes armed conflict an exceptionally complex and dynamic phenomenon. It can have profound impacts on human lives, societies and economies, leading to immense suffering and displacement, and resulting in long-term socio-economic and political consequences. Efforts are made at the global level to prevent and mitigate armed conflict through diplomatic, humanitarian and peacekeeping initiatives.
The definition of armed conflict in international humanitarian law is based on objective descriptive elements that distinguish it from situations of internal disturbance and tension, which are defined by sporadic acts of violence or escalatory threats (see RULAC’s definition of ‘armed conflict’). The territorial and temporal criteria are supplemented by the organizational character of non-state armed groups, which must dispose of a responsible command and be able to carry out concerted and sustained military operations. This ‘internationalization’ of non-international armed conflicts is consistent with jurisprudence, which has retained the principle that a conflict can be classified as a ‘conflict’ only if its participants meet certain minimum requirements. This approach is in line with a growing body of research that suggests that non-state armed groups are largely responsible for the current proliferation of violence (see e.g. Bendavid et al., 2021).