Table Of ContentRegulating the Use of Force in
Wars of National Liberation –
The Need for a New Regime
International Humanitarian Law Series
VOLUME 28
Editors-in-Chief
H.E. Judge Sir Christopher Greenwood
Professor Timothy L.H. McCormack
Editorial Advisory Board
Professor Georges Abi-Saab
H.E. Judge George H. Aldrich
Madame Justice Louise Arbour
Professor Ove Bring
Professor Antonio Cassese
Professor John Dugard
Professor Dr. Horst Fischer
Dr. Hans-Peter Gasser
Professor Leslie C. Green
H.E. Judge Geza Herczegh
Professor Frits Kalshoven
Professor Ruth Lapidoth
Professor Gabrielle Kirk McDonald
H.E. Judge Theodor Meron
Captain J. Ashley Roach
Professor Michael Schmitt
Professor Jiri Toman
The International Humanitarian Law Series is a series of monographs and edited vol-
umes which aims to promote scholarly analysis and discussion of both the theory and
practice of the international legal regulation of armed conflict.
The series explores substantive issues of International Humanitarian Law including,
– protection for victims of armed conflict and regulation of the means and methods
of warfare
– questions of application of the various legal regimes for the conduct of armed con-
flict
– issues relating to the implementation of International Humanitarian Law obliga-
tions
– national and international approaches to the enforcement of the law and
– the interactions between International Humanitarian Law and other related areas
of international law such as Human Rights, Refugee Law, Arms Control and
Disarmament Law, and International Criminal Law.
The titles in this series are listed at the end of this volume.
Regulating the Use of Force in
Wars of National Liberation –
The Need for a New Regime
A Study of the South Moluccas and Aceh
by
Noelle Higgins
LEIDEN • BOSTON
2010
Printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Higgins, Noelle.
Regulating the use of force in wars of national liberation : the need
for a new regime : a study of the South Moluccas and Aceh / by Noelle
Higgins.
p. cm. -- (International humanitarian law series ; v. 28)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-90-04-17287-6 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. War (International
law) 2. Insurgency--Indonesia 3. National liberation
movements--Indonesia--Maluku. 4. National liberation
movements--Indonesia--Aceh. I. Title.
KZ6385.H54 2010
341.6--dc22
2009043644
isbn: 978 90 04 17287 6
Copyright 2010 by Koninklijke Brill nv, Leiden, The Netherlands.
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Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and vsp.
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Cover photo: copyright anp.
printed and bound in the netherlands.
Do mo thuismitheoirí Paddy agus Kathleen Higgins, le grá mór agus buíochas
“...it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to
rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected
by the rule of law...”
(Preamble, Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements xiii
List of Abbreviations xv
Introduction 1
Part I The Legal Framework 5
Chapter 1 Jus ad Bellum – History and Evolution 7
1.0 Introduction 7
1.1 The Traditional Just War Theory 8
1.1.1 Ancient Civilisations 9
1.1.2 The Use of Force and Early Religions 10
1.1.3 The Just War and the Early Christian Church 11
1.1.4 The Medieval Just War Theory 13
1.1.5 The Just War Theory and International Law 15
1.1.6 The ‘Proper Authority’ to Wage War and the Just War Theory 17
1.2 The Sovereign Right to Wage War – the ‘War as Fact’ Period 17
1.2.1 Progressive Steps regarding the Restraint of the Use of Force 20
1.2.2 Rebellion, Insurgency and Belligerency 24
1.3 The League of Nations Period 30
1.3.1 Failure of the League 32
1.3.2 The Kellogg-Briand Pact 34
1.3.3 The Just War Theory and the League of Nations Period 35
1.3.4 The Jus in Bello during the League of Nations Period 37
1.3.5 The ‘Proper Authority’ to Wage War and the
League of Nations 38
1.4 The Jus ad Bellum and the UN 38
1.4.1 The UN Charter 39
1.4.2 Charter Exceptions to the Prohibition on the Use of Force 42
1.4.3 Collective Security and UN Institutions 43
1.4.4 Problems with the Charter provisions regarding the
Use of Force 47
1.4.5 The Just War Theory and the UN System 48
1.4.6 The Jus in Bello and the UN 49
1.4.7 The ‘Proper Authority’ to Wage War and the UN 51
1.5 Chapter Conclusions 51
viii Table of Contents
Chapter 2 Wars of National Liberation – The Right to Self-
Determination and the Jus ad Bellum 53
2.0 Introduction 53
2.1 Self-Determination – History and Evolution 55
2.1.1 Self-Determination in the 20th Century 58
2.2 Acceptance of Self-Determination as a Right under
International Law in the UN System 61
2.2.1 The UN Charter 61
2.2.2 The Bill of Rights 62
2.2.3 Other UN Instruments 63
3.2.3.1 Declaration on Granting of Independence to Colonial
Countries and Peoples 64
2.2.3.2 General Assembly Resolution 2105 65
3.2.3.3 Declaration on Friendly Relations 66
2.2.3.4 Basic Principles on the Legal Status of the Combatants
Struggling against Colonial and Alien Domination and
Racist Regimes 69
2.2.3.5 Definition of Aggression 69
2.2.4 Other UN Instruments concerning the jus ad bellum regarding
National Liberation Movements 70
2.2.5 Pronouncements of the ICJ on the Right to Self-
Determination 73
2.3 The Right to Self-Determination outside the UN Framework 75
2.3.1 Analysis of Acceptance of the Right to Self-Determination in
International Instruments 77
2.4 State Practice 78
2.4.1 Premature Recognition of Governments – the Case of
Indonesia 79
2.4.2 Recognition of National Liberation Movements 80
2.4.3 Third States and the Use of Force in
Self-Determination Claims 83
2.5 Who is entitled to the Right to Self-Determination? 85
2.6 Justification of the Use of Force to attain Self-Determination
by National Liberation Movements 87
2.7 Chapter Conclusions 89
Chapter 3 The Regulation of Wars of National Liberation under
International Humanitarian Law – the Jus in Bello 91
3.0 Introduction 91
3.1 The Application of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 to Wars of
National Liberation 92
3.1.1 Wars of National Liberation and the Geneva Conventions 93
3.1.2 Wars of National Liberation and Common Article 3 97
3.1.2.1 Application of Common Article 3 to Wars of
National Liberation 100
Table of Contents ix
3.2 The Post-1949 Development of International
Humanitarian Law 102
3.2.1 The UN and the Development of International
Humanitarian Law 103
3.2.2 Development of International Humanitarian Law
by the ICRC 104
3.2.3 Diplomatic Conference for the Reaffirmation and
Development of International Humanitarian Law Applicable
in Armed Conflicts 1974 – 1977 107
3.2.4 Impact of the Diplomatic Conference on Wars of
National Liberation 110
3.3 Additional Protocol I and Wars of National Liberation 111
3.3.1 Protocol I Provisions relevant to Wars of National Liberation 111
3.3.2 Scope 112
3.3.3 Accession 116
3.3.3.1 Article 96(3) “Authority” 117
3.3.3.2 Article 96(3) Declarations 118
3.3.4 Combatant and Prisoner of War status 122
3.3.5 Analysis of Application of Additional Protocol I to Wars of
National Liberation 126
3.4 Additional Protocol II and Wars of National Liberation 130
3.4.1 Protocol II Provisions relevant to Wars of National Liberation 130
3.4.2 Scope 130
3.4.3 Accession 131
3.4.4 Combatant and Prisoner of War Status 132
3.4.5 Threshold 132
3.4.6 Analysis of Application of Additional Protocol II to Wars of
National Liberation 134
3.5 Chapter Conclusions 135
Part II The Case Studies – The South Moluccas and Aceh 137
Chapter 4 Introduction to Case Studies – Wars of National Liberation
in Indonesia 139
4.0 Introduction to Part II 139
4.1 Introduction to Indonesia 139
4.2 The Creation of Indonesia 141
4.3 ‘Unity’ in Indonesia 146
4.4 Indonesian Governance 148
4.5 Response of the Indonesian Government to Self-
Determination Demands 151
4.6 Self-Determination Conflicts 153
4.7 Rationale for Case Studies 154
Chapter 5 The South Moluccas 157
5.0 Introduction to the Moluccas 157
x Table of Contents
5.1 A Brief History of the Moluccas 158
5.1.1 The Creation of Indonesia 160
5.1.2 The Creation of Republik Maluku Selatan 162
5.2 Background to the Conflict in the South Moluccas 164
5.2.1 The Conflict 165
5.2.2 The Malino II Peace Agreement 167
5.2.3 Self-Determination / Separatist Demands and the
Recent Conflict 169
5.3 The South Moluccas’ Claim to Self-Determination 170
5.3.1 The Right of the People of the South Moluccas to Self-
Determination based on Multilateral Agreements 170
5.3.2 The Right of the People of the South Moluccas to Self-
Determination under International Human Rights Law 173
5.3.2.1 History 174
5.3.2.2 Religion 175
5.3.2.3 Language 176
5.3.2.4 Governance 176
5.3.2.5 Other Factors relating to Moluccan Unrest and Demand for
Independence 177
5.4 The Separatist Movements in the South Moluccas – ‘political
and military struggle over time’ 179
5.4.1 Republik Maluku Selatan (RMS) 179
5.4.2 The FKM 181
5.4.3 Other Separatist Organisations 183
5.5 The Status of the Conflict as a War of National Liberation 185
5.6 The International Humanitarian Law Framework 186
5.6.1 Insurgency and Belligerency 186
5.6.2 The Challenge of the RMS and FKM to Indonesian rule
– potentially applicable International Humanitarian
Law Framework 187
5.7 The Application of International Humanitarian Law
to the Conflict 188
5.8 Chapter Conclusions 190
Chapter 6 Aceh 193
6.0 Introduction to Aceh 193
6.1 A Brief History of Aceh 194
6.1.1 The Creation of Indonesia 195
6.2 Background to the Conflict in Aceh 197
6.2.1 The Creation of the GAM 197
6.2.2 The DOM Period 198
6.2.3 The Post-DOM Period 199
6.2.4 Appeasing Aceh 200
6.2.5 The GAM Takes Control 202
6.2.6 The ‘Humanitarian Pause’ 203
6.2.7 President Wahid’s Presidential Instruction Number 4 204
