There are multiple overlapping non-international (internal) armed conflicts taking place in Iraq, most prominently, the conflict between the Iraqi government and ISIL. It should also be noted that an armed conflict can be taking place only in parts of the territory. įurthermore, in the context of Article 15(c) QD, differentiation between ‘international’ or ‘internal’ armed conflict is not necessary, as the provision is equally applicable in situations of international and internal armed conflict. Nor is it necessary to carry out, in addition to an appraisal of the level of violence present in the territory concerned, a separate assessment of the intensity of the armed confrontations, the level of organisation of the armed forces involved or the duration of the conflict. In Diakité, the CJEU sets a low threshold to assess whether an armed conflict is taking place, noting that, It is not necessary for that conflict to be categorised as ‘armed conflict not of an international character’ under international humanitarian law …internal armed conflict exists, for the purposes of applying that provision, if a State’s armed forces confront one or more armed groups or if two or more armed groups confront each other.

In Diakité, the CJEU interprets the concept of ‘internal armed conflict’ under Article 15(c) QD and concludes that it must be given an interpretation, which is autonomous from international humanitarian law:

COMMON ANALYSIS Last updated: January 2021Ī definition of an international or an internal armed conflict within the meaning of Article 15(c) QD is not provided by the Qualification Directive itself.

International armed conflict definition