Human rights concerns at different stages of conflict

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Offline shyful

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Human rights concerns at different stages of conflict
« on: May 24, 2018, 04:57:19 AM »

Human rights considerations are important factors throughout the course of a violent conflict. Although analysts do not necessarily agree about the number of stages and how they overlap, the model developed by the scholars Julie Mertus and Jeffrey Helsing, is an interesting example as it shows how human rights concerns may evolve in the course of a conflict. For analytical purposes, they have identified three--inevitably overlapping--stages and describe the role played by human rights considerations for each of them:
•   "The conflict intensification stage: Communal conflicts turn violent; human rights violations are often a root cause of conflict, and the ability of perpetrators to act with impunity contributes to the intensification of conflict; the failure to address human rights issues hinders conflict prevention efforts.
•   The armed conflict stage: Violent conflict intensifies as competing factions take up arms; human rights abuses are both a common by-product of the violence and a component of wartime strategy; international human rights norms inform standards for international intervention in conflicts, evaluation of the conduct of armed forces, and wartime protection of civilians.
•   The postconflict/postcrisis stage: Violent conflict ceases, and efforts at rebuilding begin; human rights considerations play a role in peace agreements, the treatment of refugees, civil society-building efforts, human rights education campaigns, and the creation of truth commissions and other efforts to hold perpetrators of human rights abuses accountable; if patterns of destructive relationships are not transformed into healthier patterns of interaction, this third stage can lead to a new round of intensified conflict." It is important to note that another central component of that phase is institutional reform of key state institutions, including the judiciary, the police, and prisons.
With best regards and Thanks in advance,

S.M.Saiful Haque