Military, War, and Peace Commons^™

Targeting Individuals Belonging To An Armed Group, Dr. Gloria Gaggioli

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In the context of non-international armed conflicts (NIACs), individuals belonging to an organized armed group are generally considered targetable based on their membership in such a group. There would be no need to prove that they are directly participating in hostilities in order to consider their targeting compliant with international humanitarian law (IHL). Targeting based on membership thus requires answering two key questions. First, what is an organized armed group for the purpose of IHL?; and, second, how should one determine membership in such a group? These two crucial questions raise a number of legal and practical challenges, especially with …