Naming and Shaming of Non-State Armed Groups at the UN Security Council

• In Event: Human Rights Violations in Armed Conflict

Abstract

States and international organizations use ‘naming and shaming’ to induce human rights compliance. Tackling contemporary issues of international peace requires addressing violent non-state actors, yet previous research has solely focused on examining naming and shaming that targets states. It is unknown under what conditions states name and shame armed groups. We examine speeches made in the United Nations Security Council's (UNSC) public meetings between 1995 and 2015 to answer this question. UNSC members have a responsibility for maintaining international peace and security and bear responsibility for speaking up atrocities occur. However, states may also use naming and shaming to promote political interests. Therefore, we test whether states name and shame insurgents that commit atrocities to induce compliance and to reaffirm the UN’s role in promoting international peace or if states strategically name and shame armed groups due to strategic political alliances and domestic issues. This research marks the opening of a new research agenda on the tactics of naming and shaming traditionally reserved for states.

Authors

• Caroline Brandt, Uppsala University

• Jenniina Kotajoki, Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University