Geneva Call

Geneva Call

File:GenevaCallLogo2014.jpg
Formation	March 2000
Type	NGO
Legal status	Non-profit making organization
Headquarters	Geneva, Switzerland
President	Elisabeth Decrey Warner
Budget	4,500,000 CHF (2014)
Staff	18 full-time staff (2012)
Website	http://www.genevacall.org

Geneva Call is a neutral and impartial non-governmental organization based in Geneva, Switzerland. The NGO is dedicated to promoting respect by armed non-State actors (ANSAs) for international humanitarian norms in armed conflict and other situations of violence, in particular those related to the protection of civilians.Geneva Call is currently focusing its efforts on banning the use of anti-personnel mines, protecting children from the effects of armed conflict, prohibiting sexual violence in armed conflict and working towards the elimination of gender discrimination.

Creation

Some members of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines were concerned that the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, also known as the Ottawa Treaty, was only binding on states, allowing armed non-state actors to continue using these weapons. Geneva Call was created in 1998, one year after the Ottawa Treaty was signed, to begin engaging non-State actors on the subject of landmines.

However, Geneva Call took little action until March 2000, at a conference organized by the Swiss Campaign to Ban Landmines called Engaging Non-State Actors in a Landmine Ban. This conference, the first of its kind, created a foundation for approaching non-State actors about a landmine ban, and served as the official launch of Geneva Call.

Structure

Geneva Call is a non-profit organization under Swiss law. It is headed by a board composed of local personalities with expertise in international law or in the thematic issues that compose the Geneva Call mission. One member of the board, Elisabeth Decrey-Warner, also serves as the president of Geneva Call. The board is organizing an advisory council consisting of further experts in Geneva Call's work.

Geneva Call's headquarters staff is divided into three divisions: Operations, Administration and & Finance and Communications.Geneva Call's operations staff is divided into three geographical divisions (Africa, Asia, Middle East & Latin America).

Notable Members

Elisabeth Decrey-Warner, the Executive President and co-founder of Geneva Call, has worked for over 25 years with NGOs on issues relating to refugees, torture, disarmament and humanitarian norms. Her work was recognized in 2005 when she was nominated for Switzerland as one of the 1000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize. Ms Decrey Warner was a member of the Parliament of the Republic and Canton of Geneva for 12 years and was elected its President in 2000. She is currently a member of the Advisory Board of the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) as well as of the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD). Ms. Decrey Warner was nominated among the 100 most influential people in violence reduction in armed conflict and was awarded the prestigious Hessen Peace Prize in 2012. In 2013, she was awarded the French Legion of Honour.

Armin Köhli, Geneva Call’s Programme Officer for Middle East, is a double amputee and accomplished cyclist, who placed fifth in the road race event at the 2000 Paralympic Games and won two bronze medals, five silver medals, and two gold medals in the Swiss cycling championships between 1997 and 2003. Mr. Köhli uses cycling competitions as an opportunity to promote awareness for mine action

Priscilla Hayner, Vice-Chair of the Board of the Geneva Call, was one of the co-founders of the International Center for Transitional Justice and until 2010 served as a program director and then head of the ICTJ Geneva office.

Micheline Calmy-Rey, Member of the Board, was Switzerland's Foreign Minister as head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. She was a member of the Swiss Federal Council from 2003 to the end of 2011, and was President of the Swiss Confederation in 2007 and again in 2011.

Mission

Geneva Call engages with ANSAs to encourage them to comply with international humanitarian norms, improving the protection of civilians in armed conflict. These international humanitarian norms are enshrined in the Geneva Conventions and other international treaties. While initially focusing on the ban of anti-personnel mines, Geneva Call has expanded its work into additional areas that deserve specific attention, namely the protection of children in armed conflict – notably from recruitment and use in hostilities – as well as the prohibition of sexual violence and gender discrimination. This expansion was envisioned in Geneva Call’s founding statutes and has also been encouraged by ANSAs themselves. Geneva Call has also increasingly provided International Humanitarian Law (IHL) training to ANSAs , and advice on how to incorporate IHL rules into their codes of conduct and other internal regulations.

Geneva Call developed an innovative mechanism, the Deed of Commitment that allows ANSAs to pledge to respect specific humanitarian norms and be held publically accountable for their commitments. ANSAs cannot become parties to relevant international treaties, and are generally precluded from participating in norm-making processes. Consequently, ANSAs may not feel bound to abide by rules that they have neither put forward nor formally adhered to. Sometimes they are simply not aware of their obligations under IHL.

The Deed of Commitment process gives ANSAs the opportunity to formally express their agreement to abide by humanitarian norms and take ownership of these rules.

To date, Geneva Call has developed three such documents:

• Deed of Commitment for Adherence to a Total Ban on Anti-Personnel Mines and for Cooperation in Mine Action, launched in 2000 ;
• Deed of Commitment for the Protection of Children from the Effects of Armed Conflict, launched in 2010 ;
• Deed of Commitment for the Prohibition of Sexual Violence in Situations of Armed Conflict and towards the Elimination of Gender Discrimination, launched in 2012.

Geneva Call’s mission is currently divided into four thematic issues: banning anti-personnel mines, protecting children in armed conflict, prohibiting sexual violence and gender discrimination and respect of humanitarian norms.

Landmine ban

The struggle against anti-personnel mines was the original focus of Geneva Call. Geneva Call engages ANSAs to reduce the impact of anti-personnel mines on the civilian population by promoting the ban and encouraging cooperation in mine action. Engagement tools include dialogue, advocacy and training.

In 2000, Geneva Call launched a first Deed of Commitment for Adherence to a Total Ban on Anti-Personnel Mines and for Cooperation in Mine Action.

By signing the Deed of Commitment banning anti-personnel mines, ANSAs agree, inter alia, to:

• Prohibit under any circumstance the use, production, stockpiling, and transfer of anti-personnel mines
• Undertake and cooperate in stockpile destruction; mine clearance; victim assistance; mine awareness; and various other forms of mine action, in cooperation with specialized organizations

In November 2003, the Deed of Commitment banning anti-personnel mines mines was included in the UN Mine Action Guidelines for Ceasefire and Peace Agreements as a mechanism for ANSA engagement.

Child protection

Geneva Call has been involved with child soldiers as early as 2001, when it invited the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers to a conference on engaging non-state actors to discuss their experiences in that field.

Geneva Call engages ANSAs to reduce the effects of armed conflict on children by promoting respect for children’s rights, in particular the prohibition of the recruitment and use of children in hostilities. Engagement tools include dialogue, advocacy and training.

In November 2010, Geneva Call launched a second Deed of Commitment, the Deed of Commitment under Geneva Call for the Protection of Children from the Effects of Armed Conflict.

By signing the Deed of Commitment protecting children in armed conflict, ANSAs agree, inter alia, to:

• Prohibit the use of children in hostilities
• Ensure that children are not recruited into, or forcibly associated with, armed forces
• Release or disassociate children in safety and security
• Protect children from the effects of military operations
• Do their best to provide children with the aid and care they need, in cooperation with specialized child protection agencies

Gender issues

Geneva Call engages ANSAs to reduce conflict-related sexual violence, to eliminate gender discrimination and to promote greater participation of women in decision-making processes. Engagement tools include dialogue, advocacy and training.

In June 2012, Geneva Call launched a third Deed of Commitment, the Deed of Commitment under Geneva Call for the Prohibition of Sexual Violence in Situations of Armed Conflict and towards the Elimination of Gender Discrimination''.

By signing the Deed of Commitment prohibiting sexual violence and gender discrimination, ANSAs agree, inter alia, to:

• Prohibit all forms of sexual violence
• Prevent and sanction acts of sexual violence
• Provide victims with access to the assistance and care they need
• Ensure confidentiality and protection of victims of sexual violence
• Eliminate discriminatory policies and practices against women or men
• Ensure greater participation of women in decision-making processes

Humanitarian norms

In addition to engagement on specific norms (anti-personnel mines ban, protection of children from the effects of armed conflict and prohibition of sexual violence and gender discrimination), Geneva Call seeks to build ANSAs knowledge of broad IHL rules, and their capacities to implement them.

In recent years, Geneva Call has increasingly provided trainings and technical advice to ANSAs on how to incorporate IHL into their policies, codes of conduct and other internal regulations and on implementation. In some cases, especially where Geneva Call’s current themes of engagement are not priority issues or best starting points for dialogue, activities around IHL can serve as a method for engagement.

Impact

Success

List of former or current non-state actors who have signed the Deed of Commitment

Name of NSA	Location	Date of Adherence	Notes
Arakan Rohingya National Organization	Myanmar	17 October 2003
Banaadir	Somalia	November 2002
Chin National Front/Chin National Army	Myanmar	31 July 2006
Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan	Iran	4 December 2007
Free Life Party of Kurdistan	Iran	15 April 2010
Hiran Patriotic Alliance/Somalia Reconciliation and Restoration Council	Somalia	November 2002
Jowhar Administration	Somalia	November 2002
Juba Valley Alliance	Somalia	January 2005
Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan	Iran	16 June 2009
Komala Party of Kurdistan	Iran	7 April 2009
Kuki National Organisation	India	9 August 2006
Kurdistan Democratic Party - Iran	Iran	13 April 2010
Kurdistan Organization of the Communist Party of Iran	Iran	7 April 2009
Kurdistan Regional Government-Erbil (led by the Kurdistan Democratic Party)	Iraq	11 August 2002
Kurdistan Regional Government-Sulaymaniyah (led by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan)	Iraq	10 August 2002
Kurdistan Workers’ Party	Turkey	24 June 2006
Lahu Democratic Front	Myanmar	16 April 2007
Moro Islamic Liberation Front	Philippines	7 April 2002
National Council for the Defense of Democracy – Forces for the Defense of Democracy	Burundi	15 December 2003
National Socialist Council of Nagaland	India	17 October 2003	Isak-Muivah faction
National United Party of Arakan/Arakan Army	Myanmar	17 October 2003
Palaung State Liberation Front	Myanmar	16 April 2007
Pa-O People’s Liberation Organization/Army	Myanmar	16 April 2007
Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Rio de Oro	Western Sahara	3 November 2005
Puntland State of Somalia	Somalia	11 November 2002
Rahanweyn Resistance Army	Somalia	11 November 2002	factions of Col. Hassan Mohamed Nur “Shatigudud” and Sheikh Adan “Madobe”
Revolutionary Workers’ Party of Mindanao	Philippines	10 September 2002
Revolutionary Workers’ Party of the Philippines/Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade	Philippines	11 September 2003
Somali African Muki Organization/SRRC/Nakuru	Somalia	11 November 2002
Somali National Front/SRRC	Somalia	11 November 2002
Somali Patriotic Movement	Somalia	November 2002	faction of General Aden Abdullahi Nur “Gabyow”
Southern Somali National Movement/BIREM	Somalia	11 November 2002
Southern Somali National Movement/SNA/SRRC	Somalia	11 November 2002
Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement	Sudan	4 October 2001
Transitional National Government	Somalia	11 November 2002
United Somali Congress/Somali National Alliance/SRRC	Somalia	11 November 2002
United Somali Congress/North Mogadishu/SRRC	Somalia	11 November 2002
United Somali Congress/SNA/SRRC/Nakuru	Somalia	11 November 2002
United Somali Congress/Somali Salvation Army	Somalia	11 November 2002
Zomi Reunification Organization	India	20 February 2009

Praise

Ban Ki-Moon, United Nations Secretary General has mentioned Geneva Call and its work on multiple occasions, including a speech where he identified the Geneva Call Deed of Commitment as a "successful example" of special agreements with non-state actors.

The International Forum on Armed Groups and the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, held by the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers in July 2006, recognized the Deed of Commitment as "one of the most innovative forms of persuading armed groups to make unilateral declarations to abide by IHL norms."

Criticism and Controversy

At the Seventh Meeting of States Parties to the Ottawa Treaty, Turkey accused Geneva Call of signing a Deed of Commitment with the Kurdistan Worker's Party without knowledge or consent from the Turkish government, describing the act as "inappropriate and unacceptable." Geneva Call claims that it informed Turkey of the engagement. Turkey refuses to allow Geneva Call into its borders to conduct verification missions with the Kurdistan Worker's Party.

The 2010 United States Supreme Court case Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project ruled that organizations providing international law training to organizations recognized as terrorist groups by the Department of State are committing a crime. Because of Geneva Call's relationship with the Kurdistan Worker's Party, some of the organization's activities could be considered illegal under American law. Geneva Call President Elisabeth Decrey-Warner responded that "civilians caught in the middle of conflicts and hoping for peace will suffer from this decision. How can you start peace talks or negotiations if you don’t have the right to speak to both parties?"