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    Interpretative declarations made at the time of accession.

    "With reference to Article 43, paragraph 1, and Article 44, paragraph 1, of the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I), the Argentine Republic interprets these provisions as not implying any derogation of:

    a) the concept of the permanent regular armed forces of a Sovereign State;

    b) the conceptual distinction between regular armed forces, understood as being permanent army units under
    the authority of Governments of Sovereign States, and the resistance movements which are referred to in
    Article 4 of the Third Geneva Convention of 1949."

    "With reference to Article 44, paragraphs 2, 3 and 4, of the same Protocol, the Argentine Republic considers that these provisions cannot be interpreted:

    a) as conferring on persons who violate the rules of international law applicable in armed conflicts any
    kind of immunity exempting them from the system of sanctions which apply to each case;

    b) as specifically favouring anyone who violates the rules the aim of which is the distinction between
    combatants and the civilian population;

    c) as weakening respect for the fundamental principle of the international law of war which requires that a
    distinction be made between combatants and the civilian population, with the prime purpose of protecting the
    latter."

    "With reference to Article 1 of the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts (Protocol II), taking its context into account, the Argentine Republic considers that the term "organized armed groups" which is used in Article 1 of the said Protocol is not to be understood as equivalent to that used in Article 43, Protocol I, to define the concept of armed forces, even if the aforementioned groups meet all the requirements set forth in the said Article 43."

    SOURCE: Notification by the depositary addressed to the ICRC on 1st December 1986 (Original Spanish).
26.11.1986

26.11.1986