By Group Captain Sadeeq Garba Shehu (rtd)
With regards to the current war between Israel and Hamas, one hears and reads the terms truce, cessation of hostilities, cease-fire, armistice, humanitarian pause — being used interchangeably as if they were synonyms. But while their meanings overlap, they do not say exactly the same thing. The distinctions may not be important to journalists or general interest audiences, and may be blurred. But they are still important to experts in International Humanitarian Law (or Law of War). To demonstrate the quality and depth of training given to the Nigerian military, I will be offering explanation drawing from our own NIGERIAN ARMY HANDBOOK ON INTERNATIONAL LAW GUIDING THE CONDUCT OF OPERATIONS 2017.
TRUCE (suspension of hostilities): Strictly speaking, a truce is an informal halt in fighting. They are typically arranged locally — think of opposing local Commanders agreeing under a white flag to allow each side some time to evacuate casualties from a battlefield. Truces tend to be brief and temporary, and do not necessarily signal any willingness to settle the larger conflict. A truce is not binding. It just indicates a halt in fighting. Truce agreements are made by belligerents themselves. A truce can take place in one specific geographic area of a broader conflict.
These agreements can come and go over the course of a conflict and do not indicate the state of war is over. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC): “A truce should enable work to be done that is unrelated to the general conduct of war (e.g. removal of the wounded, burial of the dead, exchange of prisoners) or give military Commanders time to ask for instructions regarding negotiations.” A truce can be called for any reason — it is not restricted to humanitarian purposes.
Section 9.16.3 of the NIGERIAN ARMY HANDBOOK ON INTERNATIONAL LAW GUIDING THE CONDUCT OF OPERATIONS 2017 talks about “FLAG OF TRUCE ”…. “Attacking fighters who are displaying a white flag is forbidden, provided those displaying it have ceased all hostile action. … The white flag can be used in armed conflict for two purposes. One is as a flag of truce indicating a desire to negotiate, the other as a flag of surrender. The use of a white flag to indicate a desire to negotiate does not necessarily imply a desire to surrender. For instance, negotiations may be held with a view to effecting a local cease-fire during which the wounded and dead can be carried off the field. Whether the purpose is to negotiate or surrender, it is never allowed to open fire on those hoisting the white flag, unless they engage in hostile action.”
HUMANITARIAN PAUSE: According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), a humanitarian pause is considered a “temporary cessation of hostilities purely for humanitarian purposes.” These pauses are usually negotiated to take place for a defined period of time, sometimes only over a few hours, and in a specific geographic area where humanitarian activities are planned. The United Nations uses the term “Humanitarian truce.”
CESSATION OF HOSTILITIES: A cessation of hostilities is broader and more formal than a truce, but is not quite a cease-fire agreement. One or both sides declare that they will suspend fighting over all. Cessations are usually meant to be the start of a larger peace process, but they are provisional and nonbinding, and in a conflict that involves many parties, the cessation may apply to only some opponents. A call for a cessation of hostilities is considered more formal than a truce, but unlike a cease-fire, it is nonbinding. A cessation of hostilities can indicate the beginning of broader peace negotiations.
Section 9.2.5 of the NIGERIAN ARMY HANDBOOK ON INTERNATIONAL LAW GUIDING THE CONDUCT OF OPERATIONS 2017 says: “an armed conflict exists whenever there is a resort to armed force between States or protracted armed violence between governmental authorities and organized armed groups or between such groups within a State. International humanitarian law applies from the initiation of such armed conflicts and extends beyond the cessation of hostilities until a general conclusion of peace is reached; or, in the case of internal conflicts, a peaceful settlement is achieved. Until that moment, international humanitarian law continues to apply in the whole territory of the warring States or, in the case of internal conflicts, the whole territory under the control of a party, whether or not actual combat takes place there.”
CEASEFIRE: A cease-fire is typically a negotiated agreement to cease hostilities and take other steps to calm things down, like pulling back heavy weapons or marking out a “green line” or demilitarized zone to separate opposing forces. Though cease-fires are usually meant to be binding, to last a while and to hold even after a few violations, they do not themselves end a conflict, only pause it. Like a cessation of hostilities or truce, it is only temporary in nature, but is generally expected to last for a longer period of time. Cease-fires do not announce the end of a conflict, but they are meant to put the opposing parties in communication with one another about potential permanent settlements.
Unlike a truce, a humanitarian pause or a cessation of hostilities, the declaration of a cease-fire often applies to the entire geographical area of a conflict, according to the UN. A cease-fire is an agreement that regulates the cessation of all military activity for a given length of time in a given area. It may be declared unilaterally, or it may be negotiated between parties to a conflict. The current “temporary ceasefire” between Israel and HAMAS is for 4 days, applies to the entire geographical area of a conflict, and was negotiated.
The NIGERIAN ARMY HANDBOOK ON INTERNATIONAL LAW GUIDING THE CONDUCT OF OPERATIONS 2017 addresses ceasefire under section 9.8 SUPPLEMENTARY AGREEMENTS where it says: “The parties to the conflict are encouraged to enter into special agreements to supplement those basic rules of IHL”… “Parties to a NIAC may wish to conclude agreements on these and a variety of other subjects, such as: Parties to a NIAC may wish to conclude agreements on these and a variety of other subjects, such as: temporary ceasefire agreements to collect the wounded; agreements to permit passage of medical or other relief supplies for the civilian population; agreements for the accommodation of detainees in other States; agreements to establish hospital or safety zones; agreements for the cessation of hostilities; and agreements for post-conflict clearance of remnants of war. To buttress this point the NA Handbook gave an example from the Nigerian Civil War 1967–70 where such an agreement was concluded between Federal Forces and Biafran side.
ARMISTICE: An armistice is a formal agreement to cease all military operations in a conflict permanently. It ends the war, but it does not establish peace; for that, a peace treaty must be negotiated and ratified. But in an armistice, the parties make a commitment to stop trying to settle their differences on the battlefield. An armistice indicates the formal end to a war negotiated by the involved parties but isn’t a peace agreement. An armistice is a military convention, the primary purpose of which is to suspend hostilities over the whole theater of war, usually for an indefinite period of time. An armistice however, still does not represent an end to hostilities, only a truce (a temporary suspension of hostilities).
Furthermore, they do not reflect a juridical end to the state of war. In this respect, they must not be confused with peace agreements, which do reflect an end to a conflict. Humanitarian law requires that “whenever circumstances permit, an armistice or a suspension of fire shall be arranged, or local arrangements made, to permit the removal, exchange and transport of those who are wounded or sick as a result of combat” (GCI Art. 15). However, the principal aim of a cease-fire is not to enable humanitarian actions. It is a military decision that responds to strategic objectives: gathering forces, evaluating the opponent’s authority and chain of command, or carrying out negotiations.
Section 5.1.2 of the NIGERIAN ARMY HANDBOOK ON INTERNATIONAL LAW GUIDING THE CONDUCT OF OPERATIONS 2017 on Specific Rules addresses the issue: “Suspension of Fire. Whenever circumstances permit, an armistice or a suspension of fire must be arranged, or local arrangements made, to permit the removal, exchange and transport of the wounded left on the battlefield. Also, Section 5.6.2 “Agreements. Local Arrangements for the Removal of Casualties Local arrangements and/ or an armistice or suspension of fire must be concluded for the search, removal, exchange and evacuation of the wounded, sick and shipwrecked, whenever circumstances permit.”
Group Captain Sadeeq Garba Shehu (rtd) is an International Defence and Security Consultant