The statistics speak for themselves: there are at least 40 active battlefields with 600 non-state armed groups operating around the world.
Throw into the mix 100 representatives from about 130 state militaries and you have a complex web of conflict tracked by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) over the past few years.
This is compounded by state-sponsored proxies, new technology, shifting alliances, political indecisiveness and a zero-sum game, resulting in familiar news stories about people left with nothing but the rubble of their homes.
“Across the globe there are terrible examples of where civilians are targeted, maimed and killed and livelihoods destroyed,” Clare Dalton, the ICRC head of mission to the UAE, said on Monday.
“We have to be able to look at why this is happening.”
This event is of utmost importance
Brig Salem Al Kaabi
Her comments came on the first day of a major military gathering in Abu Dhabi aimed at protecting civilians in times of war.
The UAE's Ministry of Defence and the ICRC organised the event, where more than 30 senior military officers from about 20 countries are examining how militaries can influence each other through "partnered military operations" to ensure respect for civilians and international humanitarian law.
“This event is of utmost importance,” said Brig Salem Al Kaabi, head of the Executive Department of Military Judiciary at the Ministry of Defence.
“We support everything that supports the implementation of the law. Legal advisers accompany battle commanders on the operational level but on the strategic level we have legal advisers that provide guidance on operations.”
The three-day event also aims to explore how alliances forged in the heat of battle can lessen rather than worsen human suffering.
Over the next few days, officers will discuss war scenarios, consider new tools and share feedback that it is hoped will help civilians in future conflicts.
“There will always be new ways people will find to fight war,” Ms Dalton said.
“Any situation where civilians are in some sort of danger or harm, it is a concern for us. We are trying to limit the impact it has on people’s lives and infrastructure but that’s never going to be easy.”
Conflicts in countries such as Syria and Iraq involve conventional state militaries supporting militias composed of unruly fighters whose alliances change rapidly on the battlefield.
No one person or military is in charge, exacerbating an already hostile situation for those innocent people caught in the crossfire. The task is hard.
“[Militaries] do care,” said James Seaton, global military adviser at the ICRC and a former Marine Corps commander.
“They have codes, customs and traditions. Even some of the non-state armed groups do."
“We are trying to give tools to militaries to help civilians, such as if you take down a bridge, there are electrical lines underneath. It is about understanding the second and third effects.”
The event comes three years after the ICRC and Ministry of Defence held the Senior Workshop on International Rules Governing Military Operations for the first time in the region.
Close to 150 high-ranking officers from more than 80 countries gathered in the capital at the time to discuss military rules, the rise of new technology and protecting the dignity of people whose lives have been torn apart by conflict.
It heard that the Geneva Conventions may need to be expanded to tackle the unrestricted rise of robot and cyber warfare.
The ICRC is considered the guardian of the Geneva Conventions, which set out how wars should be fought.
“If you look at conflict today there is nothing to be optimistic about,” said Ms Dalton.
She said she was hopeful things could change.
“We hear of the terrible instances where the law isn't respected but there are also examples of where militaries do their best. There are positives," she said.
"Laws need to adapt but the challenge is often agreeing on new laws."
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Surianah's top five jazz artists
Billie Holliday: for the burn and also the way she told stories.
Thelonius Monk: for his earnestness.
Duke Ellington: for his edge and spirituality.
Louis Armstrong: his legacy is undeniable. He is considered as one of the most revolutionary and influential musicians.
Terence Blanchard: very political - a lot of jazz musicians are making protest music right now.
Brief scores:
Toss: Sindhis, elected to field first
Kerala Knights 103-7 (10 ov)
Parnell 59 not out; Tambe 5-15
Sindhis 104-1 (7.4 ov)
Watson 50 not out, Devcich 49
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Day 1 results:
Open Men (bonus points in brackets)
New Zealand 125 (1) beat UAE 111 (3)
India 111 (4) beat Singapore 75 (0)
South Africa 66 (2) beat Sri Lanka 57 (2)
Australia 126 (4) beat Malaysia -16 (0)
Open Women
New Zealand 64 (2) beat South Africa 57 (2)
England 69 (3) beat UAE 63 (1)
Australia 124 (4) beat UAE 23 (0)
New Zealand 74 (2) beat England 55 (2)
Indian construction workers stranded in Ajman with unpaid dues
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Ten10 Cricket League
Venue and schedule Sharjah Cricket Stadium, December 14 to 17
Teams
Maratha Arabians Leading player: Virender Sehwag; Top picks: Mohammed Amir, Imad Wasim; UAE players: Shaiman Anwar, Zahoor Khan
Bengal Lions Leading player: Sarfraz Ahmed; Top picks: Sunil Narine, Mustafizur Rahman; UAE players: Mohammed Naveed, Rameez Shahzad
Kerala Kings Leading player: Eoin Morgan; Top picks: Kieron Pollard, Sohail Tanvir; UAE players: Rohan Mustafa, Imran Haider
Pakhtoons Leading player: Shahid Afridi; Top picks: Fakhar Zaman, Tamim Iqbal; UAE players: Amjad Javed, Saqlain Haider
Punjabi Legends Leading player: Shoaib Malik; Top picks: Hasan Ali, Chris Jordan; UAE players: Ghulam Shabber, Shareef Asadullah
Team Sri Lanka Cricket Will be made up of Colombo players who won island’s domestic limited-overs competition
UAE central contracts
Full time contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ahmed Raza, Mohammed Usman, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Sultan Ahmed, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid
Part time contracts
Aryan Lakra, Ansh Tandon, Karthik Meiyappan, Rahul Bhatia, Alishan Sharafu, CP Rizwaan, Basil Hameed, Matiullah, Fahad Nawaz, Sanchit Sharma
Pathaan
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if you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Seoul from Dh3,775 return, including taxes
The package
Ski Safari offers a seven-night ski package to Korea, including five nights at the Dragon Valley Hotel in Yongpyong and two nights at Seoul CenterMark hotel, from £720 (Dh3,488) per person, including transfers, based on two travelling in January
The info
Visit www.gokorea.co.uk
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch automatic
Power: 169bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh54,500
On sale: now
CREW
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Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Persuasion
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More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
PROFILE OF CURE.FIT
Started: July 2016
Founders: Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori
Based: Bangalore, India
Sector: Health & wellness
Size: 500 employees
Investment: $250 million
Investors: Accel, Oaktree Capital (US); Chiratae Ventures, Epiq Capital, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Piramal Group’s Anand Piramal, Pratithi Investment Trust, Ratan Tata (India); and Unilever Ventures (Unilever’s global venture capital arm)
The Bio
Ram Buxani earned a salary of 125 rupees per month in 1959
Indian currency was then legal tender in the Trucial States.
He received the wages plus food, accommodation, a haircut and cinema ticket twice a month and actuals for shaving and laundry expenses
Buxani followed in his father’s footsteps when he applied for a job overseas
His father Jivat Ram worked in general merchandize store in Gibraltar and the Canary Islands in the early 1930s
Buxani grew the UAE business over several sectors from retail to financial services but is attached to the original textile business
He talks in detail about natural fibres, the texture of cloth, mirrorwork and embroidery
Buxani lives by a simple philosophy – do good to all
The major Hashd factions linked to Iran:
Badr Organisation: Seen as the most militarily capable faction in the Hashd. Iraqi Shiite exiles opposed to Saddam Hussein set up the group in Tehran in the early 1980s as the Badr Corps under the supervision of the Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The militia exalts Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei but intermittently cooperated with the US military.
Saraya Al Salam (Peace Brigade): Comprised of former members of the officially defunct Mahdi Army, a militia that was commanded by Iraqi cleric Moqtada Al Sadr and fought US and Iraqi government and other forces between 2004 and 2008. As part of a political overhaul aimed as casting Mr Al Sadr as a more nationalist and less sectarian figure, the cleric formed Saraya Al Salam in 2014. The group’s relations with Iran has been volatile.
Kataeb Hezbollah: The group, which is fighting on behalf of the Bashar Al Assad government in Syria, traces its origins to attacks on US forces in Iraq in 2004 and adopts a tough stance against Washington, calling the United States “the enemy of humanity”.
Asaeb Ahl Al Haq: An offshoot of the Mahdi Army active in Syria. Asaeb Ahl Al Haq’s leader Qais al Khazali was a student of Mr Al Moqtada’s late father Mohammed Sadeq Al Sadr, a prominent Shiite cleric who was killed during Saddam Hussein’s rule.
Harakat Hezbollah Al Nujaba: Formed in 2013 to fight alongside Mr Al Assad’s loyalists in Syria before joining the Hashd. The group is seen as among the most ideological and sectarian-driven Hashd militias in Syria and is the major recruiter of foreign fighters to Syria.
Saraya Al Khorasani: The ICRG formed Saraya Al Khorasani in the mid-1990s and the group is seen as the most ideologically attached to Iran among Tehran’s satellites in Iraq.
(Source: The Wilson Centre, the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation)
