Reflections on unilateral commitments of non-state armed actors: the Geneva Call experience

Abstract

Nowadays Non-State Armed Actors (NSAAs) are very frequently parties to armed conflicts, particularly those of a non-international nature. These actors may or may not be subjects of international law and are not considered, in principle, as rule-making entities of international humanitarian law (IHL), although they are obliged to conduct themselves in accordance with this branch of law during armed conflicts. However, their conduct during these conflicts can have a considerable impact on the formation, consolidation, and respect of IHL norms, as well as on the process of universalization of conventional IHL norms and their possible materialization in customary norms. The celebration of formal commitments on the part of the ANSAs can contribute to these processes, as the case of the Commitment Acts that, promoted by the Non-Governmental Organization Geneva Call, are signed by some ANSAs in respect of IHL norms or Human Rights. This article aims to generate a reflection on the legal, political and/or humanitarian impact of this kind of unilateral commitment.