Abstract
With the significant increase in non-international armed conflict (NIAC) novel challenges have arisen in terms of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and the rules applicable to armed conflict. Given the rapid advance and sophistication of non-state armed groups (NSAGs) and their military capacity, states engaged in a NIAC with NSAGs more commonly have been overwhelmed threatening the sovereignty and security of a state. Status of Forces Agreements (SOFA) regulate the mandate and conduct of foreign armed forces deployed to states for numerous reasons, such peace-keeping operations, which may entail assisting a state’s armed forces control outbreaks of violence occurring on their territory in an ongoing NIAC. The classification of an armed conflict is intrinsic to determine which rules in IHL apply to a particular situation and to the actors involved in armed conflict. This dissertation, in examining the types of armed conflict, explores how the deployment in terms of a SOFA of foreign armed forces on behalf of a state involved in a NIAC affects the classification of the armed conflict.