In the light of armed conflicts in the Middle East, the protection of civilians in conflict remains
one of the main objectives of the many states and one of the main concerns of the local and
international non-governmental organizations.
According to this, the “Permanent Peace Movement” and the "Geneva Call" invited a number
of non-governmental organizations, government representatives and experts in the
humanitarian field for a conference entitled "Engaging with Armed non-State Actors in the
Broader Middle East on the Protection of Civilians" on Friday and Saturday the 30th and 31st of
March 2012 at the "Garden" hotel in Broumana.
Representatives of international and local organizations active in those fields, as well as
representatives of the Governments of Switzerland, Norway and the relevant United Nations
agencies attended the conference, in order to discuss how to deal with the armed non-state
groups in the Middle East and Afghanistan.
The conference contributed in building up knowledge and in sharing experiences in the
international humanitarian law, it allowed as well for the experts and the members of the civil
society working in the humanitarian field with armed non-state groups to address a series of
approaches and challenges and explore how to face them.
The sessions included the legal frameworks and international legislations of armed conflicts and
the keynote speakers were:
- Michel Veuthey, the vice President of the International Institute of Humanitarian Law
who spoke about the Customary law and the reality of armed conflicts,
- Boudjellal Bettahar, the director of the Arab Center for International Humanitarian Law
and Human Rights Education in France who spoke about the Islamic review on Law on
Armed Conflict
- Wael Hajj-Ibrahim, the agency coordinating body for Afghan Relief who spoke about the
Cultural Values and Humanitarian Engagement.
The conference included also a review of cases and experiences from Somalia, Palestine (Gaza
Strip), Afghanistan, Yemen and the Palestinian camps in Lebanon, particularly in the issue of
demining, child protection and the protection of women. The achievements and the challenges
facing activists in dialogue with armed non-state groups were also discussed.
Participants represented a number of organizations, including: the Palestinian Centre for
Human Rights, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs of the United Nations in Yemen (OCHA), Sisters Arab Forum for Human Rights, Mine
Detection Center in Afghanistan, Qatar Red Crescent Society, Human Rights Watch, Conflict
Dynamics, among others. Representatives of the Swiss Government and the Royal Norwegian
Embassy in Beirut participated as well to talk about the international contribution in the
dialogue of states with armed non-state groups.
The participants discussed also how to improve the protection of civilians through dialogue
with armed non-state groups. In conclusion, the participants reached a number of
recommendations, most notably the need to develop new strategies to improve
communication in Humanitarian Engagement with ANSAs and to find practical and field
concerned solutions for the protection of civilians from the conflict by applying the principles of
neutrality and impartiality.
The respective Presidents of Geneva Call, Permanent Peace Movement and Foundation For the
Future also participated in the conference.
The conference was supported mainly by the Foundation for the Future and the Open Society
Institute..