The qualification of armed conflicts and the ‘Support-Based Approach’: Time for an appraisal

The ICRC’s ‘support-based approach’: A suitable but incomplete theory

1. Introduction The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) recently developed a new theory, entitled ‘support-based approach’, which deals with foreign interventions by ‘one or more States, a coalition of States or an international or regional organization’[1] in a pre-existing non-international armed conflict (NIAC) in support to one of the parties to this conflict.[2]...

Which role for hybrid entities involved in multi-parties NIACs? Applying the ICRC’s support-based approach to the armed conflict in Mali

1. Introduction Over the last few years, especially in the context of non-international armed conflicts (NIACs), ‘hybrid’ actors have increasingly come on stage fighting alongside more traditional ones and thus adding further complexity to the analysis of the situation. In light of the interdependent relationship between the qualification of the parties to a conflict and...

Some thoughts on the ICRC Support Based Approach

1. Introduction In a recent article posted on this Zoom in, Raphael van Steenberghe and Pauline Lesaffre offer some insights on the ICRC Support Based Approach (SBA) developed by Tristan Ferraro and subsequently adopted by the ICRC.[1] This short commentary is intended to provide some feedback on both the ICRC position and the criticism and...