According to IHL, two types of armed conflicts exist: international armed conflicts and noninternational armed conflicts. Given the evolving character of armed conflicts and related prevailing situations, the ICRC has provided further guidance based on subsequent legal opinions and research. • International armed conflicts (IAC) exist whenever there is resort to armed force between two or more States. Examples may include hostile resort to armed force involving two or more States; 7 occupation or when a territory is placed under the authority of an hostile army;8 armed conflicts in which peoples are fighting against colonial domination, alien occupation or racist regimes in the exercise of their right to self-determination (wars of national liberation);9 intervention in a previously existing internal conflict without the consent of the territorial State (for example to fight a non-state armed group, or to support it against the territorial State).10 An IAC does not exist in cases in which use of force is the result of an error (e.g. involuntary incursion into foreign territory, wrongly identifying the target); and when the territorial State has given its consent to an intervention. 11 • Non-international armed conflicts (NIAC) are protracted armed confrontations occurring between governmental armed forces and the forces of one or more armed groups, or between such groups arising on the territory of a State. The armed confrontation must reach a minimum level of intensity and the parties involved in the conflict must show a minimum of organisation.12 Examples may include protracted armed confrontations occurring between governmental armed forces and one or more armed groups; and several factions confronting each other without the involvement of the government’s armed forces.13 A NIAC does not exist in cases of internal disturbances and tensions, such as riots, isolated and sporadic acts of violence and other acts of a similar nature.14 Identifying armed conflict The situations of armed conflict to be included in the indicator annually will be identified based on the assessments, as contained in publicly available reports and other relevant documents, issued by the UN and other internationally mandated entities. These would include the following: reports issued by the Secretary General; resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council; resolutions adopted by the General Assembly; reports of UN-mandated International Commissions on Inquiry and Fact-Finding Missions; reports by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR); resolutions adopted by the Human Rights Council; reports by the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council; reports issued by the ICRC; and reports and other documents by international and other relevant criminal courts. Using these sources, an annual list of situations of armed conflict to be considered for the indicator will be generated by OHCHR. This list will be produced only for the compilation of the indicator and will not imply any further legal determinations for other purposes, including in relation to the question of applicability of international humanitarian law. 4

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