In recent years, the direct participation of civilians in hostilities has been one of the issues at the center of discourse in international humanitarian law (IHL), as part of concerns regarding the global war against terrorism and the involvement of non-state actors in conflicts. This issue has been raised, for example, in the ruling of Former Israeli Supreme Court President Aharon Barak's regarding targeted killings (HCJ 769/02 Public Committee Against Torture v. Government of Israel), and in the Red Cross guidelines on this subject.
Recently, this matter emerged again in Part One of the Report of the Public Commission for Examining the Maritime Incident of 31 May 2010 (The Turkel Commission). The Commission's findings included the following statement about the members of the Turkish organization IHH who were aboard the Gaza-bound flotilla at the time of the incident:
"While it is also evident that a number of IHH activists took part in hostilities from a planning and logistical perspective well before the arrival of the Israeli armed forces, for the purposes of this analysis, it is only necessary to find that they were directly participating from the time the IDF's takeover of the ship began."
This statement raises questions about the instances in which the provisions regarding direct participation in hostilities are applicable and about the line that distinguishes civilian opposition (even if illegal and violent) from the kind of participation in hostilities that warrants the loss of protection afforded to civilians under international humanitarian law.
In order to explore this matter, the Israel Democracy Institute has invited state officials, representatives of human rights organizations, and leading academics to join its researchers in discussing direct participation of civilians in hostilities.
The symposium will take place at IDI on Sunday March 27, 2011 from 5:00–8:00 pm.
Participation is by invitation only.