Armed Groups, Religious Leaders, and Humanitarian Norms: A Case Study of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in Syria and Ansar Allah in Yemen

Abstract

As international humanitarian law (IHL) and international human rights law (IHRL) continue to be violated, engaging non-state armed groups (NSAGs) remains an arduous task for humanitarian workers. Among the novel approaches to promote and defend these legal regimes among NSAGs, growing attention is devoted to the roles that religious leaders might play in promoting behaviours in compliance with IHL and IHRL. This approach seems especially pertinent in the case of religiously driven NSAGs, such as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in north-west Syria and Ansar Allah in north Yemen. This article aims to provide valuable insight on the potential of humanitarian engagement with religious leaders in these contexts. It starts by exploring the relationship between religious leaders active in north-west Syria and north Yemen and HTS and Ansar Allah respectively. The analysis proceeds by exploring whether those relationships had an impact over the NSAGs’ compliance/non-compliance with IHL and IHRL. Finally, we engage in an explanatory effort to make sense of the similarities and differences identified in the influence that religious leaders exercise (or do not exercise) on HTS and Ansar Allah in matters of humanitarian norms compliance.