Armed conflict affects millions of people and has devastating consequences for human rights, regional stability and the global economy. The indiscriminate targeting of civilians and the destruction of basic infrastructure lead to widespread human suffering and displacement. They often create a humanitarian crisis that is exacerbated by the disproportionate impact on vulnerable segments of society, such as women, children, older people and indigenous populations.

Ethnic and religious tensions, power struggles and governance issues can also fuel armed conflicts, as different factions seek to dominate a territory and impose their vision of the future. Understanding the interplay of these factors is essential to preventing the recurrence of violent clashes and fostering sustainable solutions that promote enduring peace.

According to Kenneth Waltz, the root causes of armed conflict can be found at three analytical levels: the level of the individual (human nature and characteristics, biological instincts), the level of the State regime and society (security dilemma mechanism, diversity rates of economic increment, and challenges to the hegemonic status of a power by a rising power) and the international system. The anarchic character of the latter generates war, as a consequence of the imbalance in capabilities between major states and the resulting struggle for survival. Humanitarian law distinguishes between two categories of armed conflict: international and non-international, based on specific material elements such as territoriality, the organisation of non-state armed groups, their type of command, control over a part of the territory, their continuity and coordination of military operations and their capacity to comply with humanitarian laws.