Generating Respect for Humanitarian Norms: The Influence of Religious Leaders on Parties to Armed Conflict

人道主义准则旨在通过要求武装冲突各方保护平民不受攻击、被拘留者不受虐待，并促进人道主义援助，使战争“人性化”。然而，在全球各地，平民被杀害，被拘留者受到虐待，医院和救援车队遭到轰炸，这种情况屡见不鲜。这种情况表明，需要确定新的办法，以便更好地遵守人道主义准则。本项目提出了这样一种新颖的方法。该项目侧重于宗教领袖在影响国家和非国家武装行为者将人道主义规范内在化方面发挥的作用，最终目的是加强对受战争影响社区成员的保护。该项目的前提是观察到，在过去几十年里，不同信仰的宗教领袖提出了进一步尊重人道主义规范的宗教解释，或者相反，这些解释与人道主义规范直接冲突。在这样做的过程中，宗教领袖依赖于一种植根于传统或魅力的特殊类型的合法性，这将他们塑造成在许多冲突局势中特别有影响力的社会行为者。通过绘制他们在利比亚、马里、缅甸和哥伦比亚武装冲突中的角色图，该项目将加强对宗教领袖提出哪些类型的信息以及这些信息与人道主义规范之间的关系的了解。该项目将通过与这四个国家的宗教领袖、选定的武装行为者现任和前任成员以及受影响社区的个人进行320次访谈，寻求了解宗教解释对冲突各方的影响。通过为人道主义组织制定和试行准则，该项目将使实践者能够与当地的宗教领袖接触，目的是探索宗教领袖支持人道主义准则并影响冲突各方遵守这些准则的最有效方式。宗教领袖和受影响社区成员的观点将通过40个数字故事(带有音频、视频、照片和文本材料的简短录音)向更广泛的受众描绘他们在战争中所起作用的观点。该项目是与人道主义组织日内瓦呼吁和联合国宗教或信仰自由特别报告员密切合作设计和开发的。另外两个主要人道主义组织--红十字国际委员会和迪亚科尼亚全球国际人道主义法中心--以及一个学术机构--布宜诺斯艾利斯大学国际人道主义法观察站--正在支持该项目并将参与其活动。

Humanitarian norms aim to 'humanise' war by requiring parties to armed conflict to protect civilians from attacks, detainees from abuse, and to facilitate humanitarian assistance. Yet, across the globe and all too often, civilians are killed, detainees are ill-treated, and hospitals and aid convoys are bombed. This situation portrays the need for the identification of new approaches aimed at generating greater compliance with humanitarian norms. This project proposes such a novel approach. It focuses on the role that religious leaders (can) play in influencing state and non-state armed actors to internalise humanitarian norms with the ultimate aim of enhancing the protection of members of communities affected by war.The project is premised on the observation that religious leaders of various faiths have over the past decades put forward interpretations of religion that further the respect of humanitarian norms or, on the contrary, that come in direct conflict with them. In so doing, religious leaders are relying on a special type of legitimacy anchored in tradition or charisma, which shapes them as particularly influential societal actors in many conflict situations. By mapping their role in armed conflicts in Libya, Mali, Myanmar and Colombia, the project will enhance the understanding of what types of messages religious leaders put forward and how these relate to humanitarian norms. The project will seek to understand the influence of religious interpretations on the parties to the conflict through 320 interviews with religious leaders, selected current and former members of armed actors, and individuals belonging to affected communities in the four countries. By crafting and piloting guidelines for humanitarian organisations, the project will enable practitioners to engage with religious leaders on the ground with the aim to explore the most effective ways in which religious leaders can support humanitarian norms and influence parties to a conflict to comply with these norms. The perspectives of religious leaders on the role they can play to 'humanise' war, and those of members of affected communities, will be portrayed to wider audiences through 40 digital stories (short recordings with audio, video, photographic and textual material).The project has been designed and will be developed in close partnership with the humanitarian organisation Geneva Call and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief. Two other key humanitarian organisations are supporting the project and will be involved in its activities, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Diakonia Global International Humanitarian Law Centre, alongside an academic institution, the Observatory on International Humanitarian Law of the University of Buenos Aires.