A Conference Organized by the Armed Groups Project with the support of the Rockefeller Foundation

Centre of International Relations
Liu Institute for Global Issues
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, 14-15 November 2003

Conference Program

Click on the paper titles for an abstract or to download a copy of the paper in PDF.

Friday, November 14

8:45-9:00
Welcome and introduction
* Pablo Policzer and David Capie, Directors, Armed Groups Project

9:00-10:45
Panel One – Building Blocks: Armed Group Structure and Behaviour

* Stathis Kalyvas (Yale University) "The Sociology of Civil Wars: Warfare and Armed Groups"

* Sunil Dasgupta (Brookings Institution) "Understanding Paramilitary Growth: Agency Relations in Military Organization"

* Jeremy Weinstein (Center for Global Development / Stanford University) "Resources and the Information Problem in Rebel Recruitment"

* William Reno (Northwestern University) "Sovereign Predators and Non-State Armed Group Protectors?"

REFRESHMENTS

11:00-12:30
Panel Two – Engaging Armed Groups

* Daniel Munoz-Rojas (ICRC) "Violations of International Humanitarian Law: Their Psycho-sociological Causes and Prevention"

* Manuel Bessler (UN OCHA) "UN Terms of Engagement with Armed Groups"

* Soliman M. Santos Jr. (Founding Director for Asia, Geneva Call) "A Critical Reflection On The Geneva Call Instrument And Approach In Engaging Armed Groups On Humanitarian Norms: A Southern Perspective"

* Jo Becker (Human Rights Watch) "Child Soldiers and Armed Groups"

LUNCH

2:00-3:30
Panel Three – 'Naming and Shaming', Its Strengths and Weaknesses

* Iain Levine (Human Rights Watch) "Naming and Shaming: Holding Non-State Armed Groups Accountable"

* Alan Kuperman (Johns Hopkins University) "Moral Hazard: How and Why Humanitarian Intervention Promotes Armed Rebellion"

* Ivan Orozco (Notre Dame University) "Dealing with Symmetrical Barbarism: A Challenge for the Human Rights Movement -- The Colombian Case"

* Fred Abrahams (Human Rights Watch) “Naming and Shaming in Kosovo”

REFRESHMENTS

3:45-5:00
Panel Four – Economic Instruments and Incentives

* Timothy Raeymakers (University of Ghent) "Targeting Businesses in Conflict: Beyond the Plunder Logic"

* Kim Cragin (RAND) "Socio-economic Development as a Specific Tool of Counter-Terrorism"

* Karen Ballentine (International Peace Academy) "Targeting Armed Groups: Are Smart Sanctions Effective?"

DINNER

Saturday, November 15

9:00-11:00
Panel Five – Legal Instruments: Domestic and International

* George Andreopoulos (CUNY) "The International Legal Framework and Armed Groups"

* Anita Ramasastry (University of Washington) "Group Liability Under International Law"

* Joanne Lee (University of British Columbia) "International Criminal Tribunals and their Efficacy in Deterring Non-State Actors"

* Chandra Sriram (St Andrew’s University) "Achieving Accountability for Non-State Armed Groups—Use of Domestic Mechanisms for International Crimes"

11:15 -12:30
Panel Six – Diasporas

* Margaret Purdy (University of British Columbia) "Targeting Diasporas: The Canadian Counter-Terrorism Experience"

* Selliah Ignasius Yoganathan (University of Michigan) "Diasporas and the Sri Lankan Conflict"

* Joseph Bartel (Vancouver Southern Sudanese Association) "Incorporating the Southern Sudanese Diaspora"

LUNCH

2:00-3:30
Panel Seven – Integrating Armed Groups into Governance Structures

* Marco Sassòli (University of Quebec) "Possible Legal Mechanisms to Improve Compliance by Armed Groups with International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law"

* Kenneth Menkhaus (Davidson College) "Warlords and Landlords: Non-State Actors and Humanitarian Norms in Somalia"

* Martin Komakech (HURIFO, Gulu, Uganda) "The Northern Uganda Conflict, Civil Society Initiatives and Interventions, and Human Rights Focus (HURIFO) Operations in the Conflict-Zone"

* Jeffrey Mapendere (Carter Center, Emory University) "Can Rebel Groups be Partners in Designing Human Rights Regulations?"

REFRESHMENTS

3:45-5:00
Panel Eight – Review and Open Discussion