CIAO DATE: 06/2013
May 2013
United States Institute of Peace
In some situations armed groups engage in law and order functions and tasks. In situations where local communities have no access to official law and order, communities sometimes must rely on armed groups to protect them from crime. In such cases the international community must decide what their relationship is to be with the armed group and how best to manage that relationship
Resource link: Armed Groups Maintaining Law and Order: Dealing with Reality [PDF]