Iraq: training a Kurdish armed non-State actor’s combatants on the law of war
In November 2015, over two days, Geneva Call held its first training session for combatants since it reopened its programme in Iraq. Twenty fighters from the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK)–an Iranian Kurdish armed non-State actor (ANSA) involved in the current fighting–were trained on the Deeds of Commitment and the law of war (humanitarian norms).
Reaching PAK’s facilities
We leave Erbil early in the morning to travel to the facility where the training session will take place, somewhere between Erbil and Kirkuk, 25 km from the front line.
After a one-hour drive on a busy motorway and through a number of checkpoints, we arrive at a militarized area–shared with the Peshmerga–where 15 male PAK fighters are waiting for us at a small base.
After a military salute, we are invited to enter a room, and we begin the training session.
This training session follows a dialogue initiated with PAK in 2014 and which led to this armed movement signing all three of Geneva Call’s Deeds of Commitment — protecting children in armed conflict, prohibiting sexual violence and against gender discrimination, and banning anti-personnel mines — in June 2015.
As agreed with PAK’s leaders in the implementation plan, this session’s goal is to train a number of rank-and-file fighters in order to increase the dissemination of the rules contained in the Deeds. Our training team comprises a legal adviser and a programme officer. The following day’s session will cover the dissemination of the law of war (humanitarian norms).
Although PAK is originally from Iran, it is now based in Iraq, and its operations are focused on the fight against the Islamic State group (ISg) alongside Kurdistan Regional Government forces, the Peshmerga. According to PAK, around 600 of its combatants are fighting in the Kirkuk area, with more around Mosul.
A commander from among the participants welcomes the training team. He stresses that they are all thankful to be receiving training. He jokes about the fact that other PAK fighters are also receiving training today, but that it is weapons training with military trainers from a Western country.
He explains that all the fighters come from different units and have been selected for their ability and willingness to promote the content of the training session within those units.
According to Geneva Call’s monitoring process, PAK has so far respected the provisions of the three Deeds it has signed. This session’s work is therefore highly preventive in nature: to avoid any future cases of violations, it is necessary to make sure that all PAK’s fighters are aware of the obligations resulting from the signature of the Deeds.
Tomorrow’s session on the law of war will be particularly relevant as there have been some allegations of violations by PAK and, in this particularly violent conflict, all the parties are at risk of not respecting these rules.
Protecting children in armed conflict
We start the training with the Deed of Commitment protecting children in armed conflict, and we discuss all its obligations. By asking the participants a few questions, we determine that all of them joined the PAK when they were over 18 years old. Their ages now range from 19 to 42.
They seem to have a very clear understanding of the prohibition on recruiting children and their use in hostilities. They are aware that children cannot join the organization, nor can they fight, spy, man a checkpoint or carry weapons.
Even before the signature of the Deed, PAK’s internal regulations clearly stated that no children under 18 could join its ranks. The participants add that in some cases when children tried to join they were referred to the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (the Iraqi Kurdish authorities) social services department where they are taken care of and received an education.
As mentioned above, Geneva Call’s monitoring process has not revealed any allegations of child recruitment and PAK’s policy seems to be clear on this issue. However, we extensively discuss issues such as the detention of children in armed conflict and what the organization’s positive obligations are with regard to providing children with the aid and care they require.
Banning anti-personnel mines
Although we know that to date the PAK has not been reported as a user of anti-personnel mines, we review all the obligations of the Deed of Commitment, which include the prohibition of the use, development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, retention and transfer of mines and victim-activated improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
The main concern expressed by the PAK fighters is demining. They explain that together with the Peshmerga forces they have retaken several villages previously held by the ISg.
According to their accounts, the ISg usually mines villages before leaving them, setting up victim-activated IEDs and booby traps in often unexpected places such as graves or sofas. They tell us that some sophisticated explosive traps are activated when the victim moves in front of a camera lens.
PAK has a team of deminers, some of whom have been injured by IEDs. The fighters tell us about an engineer who lost a hand only a few days ago. They say they have good mine detectors but are lacking in other equipment and knowledge, despite having received some training from European countries.
We ask them what they do with the explosives and mines they capture, and they inform us that these are transferred to the Peshmerga forces, under whose umbrella they are fighting. The PAK also states that it is open to having its camps and munition stocks monitored by Geneva Call in order to make sure that it does not use landmines.
We have a short break for lunch — a modest portion of rice and beans — before the afternoon’s session on sexual violence.
Prohibiting sexual violence and ending gender discrimination
Several reports have denounced the numerous acts of sexual violence committed by the ISg in Iraq. The case of the Yezidi (a Kurdish-speaking minority) women who were captured and enslaved is emblematic of this.
When we start the discussion on this topic, we know that according to our monitoring work, this is not a problematic issue in the ranks of PAK. Furthermore, it is explained to us that any act of sexual violence would be severely punished, in accordance with its internal rules.
We remind them that sexual violence is not just rape but includes other acts of sexual nature, such as sexual torture, forced abortion, trafficking for sexual purposes, forced nudity and so forth.
The group is also very concerned with the promotion of gender equality. The fighters share tasks; for instance, cooking is done by men. They apologized for not having invited any women to the first day of the training session, but they are based in another location and could not assist today.
To conclude the day’s sessions, we distribute more than 100 illustrated booklets and posters on the law of war and the Deeds of Commitment that will be disseminated within their respective units. We also discuss the enforcement mechanisms in place for the three Deeds and underline the importance of continuing the dissemination of the rules to all their fighters.
We finally leave the centre after four hours of intensive training and exchange, before the night falls in order to avoid any security issues.
Day two: a session on the law of war
The next day, we go back for a second day of training on the law of war. Fifteen combatants, including four female combatants, attend the session.
As is usually the case in these types of training sessions there is much discussion on the principle of distinction and proportionality. There is some debate and many questions are asked about who would or could be considered to be taking an active part in hostilities. The example of a man selling food to enemy forces, for instance, raises quite some discussion.
When asked about assessing proportionality before an attack, some combatants speak of going beyond the obligations contained in the law of war to prevent damages and injuries. Others, however, are more focussed on the military advantage to be gained.
Some interesting debates take place on how to conduct an operation given a specific scenario that we have prepared for them. The female combatants are very involved and vocal, and one of them, who is a commander, takes the leadership role in one of the working groups.
At the end of the training session, we are visited by PAK’s main leader, Hussein Yazdanpana, who stresses the importance of his group’s fighters being trained on the law of war.
Next steps
We will continue our training work with this group as it is very active in the war raging in Iraq. Next steps include:
- Internal dissemination. Following this training session, more dissemination material, such as illustrated booklets, will be distributed to PAK’s fighters.
- Code of Conduct. We will support PAK in the drafting of a code of conduct in line with the law of war. The group has internal rules, but these are based on tradition and are disseminated orally.
- Training of trainers. A joint training of trainers is planned for later in 2016 with other Kurdish armed non-State actors. Following that training session, trainers will integrate a module about the law of war into the curricula of their military training programmes.
The overall impression is that although the combatants have not received any previous external training on the law of war, they have a good understanding of the basic need to protect civilians, civilian objects and people not involved in the fighting.
We also know that in this volatile conflict, violations of the law of war are widespread, and prevention is, therefore, essential as all parties to the conflict are at risk of committing such violations.
This programme was developed with the support of the European Union in partnership with the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action.
