Law of Armed Conflict/IHL

A view of the entrance to the Court of Cassation (Cour de cassation), one of France's courts of last resort having jurisdiction over all matters triable, is pictured on March 21, 2017, on Ils de la Cite, an island in the River Sein in central Paris . (Photo by THOMAS SAMSON / AFP) (Photo credit should read THOMAS SAMSON/AFP via Getty Images)

La France n’est pas un havre de paix pour les auteurs de violations des droits de l’homme, malgré l’avis de la Haute Cour

This article is also available in English here. Traduction fournie par l’auteur Un avis retentissant rendu par la plus haute juridiction française a semé le doute sur…

Feb. 4, 2022 Roger Lu Phillips and Aweiss Al Dobouch

A gray, black, and white aerial image of two compounds surrounded by trees. One building is in the middle of green crosshairs from US video camera.

The Al-Qurayshi Operation and Minimization of Civilian Casualties

US officials’ emphasis on minimization of civilian casualties in an operation against such a high value target deserves special attention.

Feb. 3, 2022 Tess Bridgeman and Ryan Goodman

The main gate at the prison in Guantanamo at the US Guantanamo Naval Base on October 16, 2018, in Guantanamo Base, Cuba. A tower with an American flag is seen behind barbed wire fencing.

Biden Team Gets It Right on Inadmissibility of Torture Evidence in Al-Nashiri Case

In a much anticipated brief, the government categorically rejected the use of statements obtained through torture in military commissions and promised not to admit any statements…

Feb. 1, 2022 Tess Bridgeman

A physical therapy room for older detainees is seen at the US Guantanamo Naval Base on October 16, 2018, in Guantanamo Base, Cuba. - The Guantanamo prison, which houses detainees accused of participating in the 9/11 attacks, is to remain open for at least 25 years, said US Navy Admiral John Ring, commander of the base. (Photo by Sylvie LANTEAUME / AFP) (Photo credit should read SYLVIE LANTEAUME/AFP via Getty Images)

A Rare Public Wake-Up Call from the ICRC on Guantanamo Transfers

An exceedingly rare public statement by the ICRC calls on the Biden administration to get serious about Guantanamo transfers.

Jan. 20, 2022 Tess Bridgeman

The defendant, former Syrian intelligence officer Anwar Raslan, 58 years old, stands in a courtroom on his day to be sentenced. He has his covid protection mask off and wears a green jacket and cream colored jersey. He stands next to two individuals in dark blue suits.. In the front of the image is the back of a officer with the word "Justice" on a bulletproof vest.

A German Sentence of Life Imprisonment for Crimes Against Humanity – A Small Measure of Justice for Syria

Unpacking a landmark conviction for war crimes in Syria.

Jan. 14, 2022 Claus Kress

Russia's Soyuz MS-13 spacecraft carrying the members of the International Space Station (ISS) expedition 60/61, NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan, Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov and Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano of ESA (European Space Agency), blasts off to the ISS from the launch pad at the Russian-leased Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on July 20, 2019.

The Russian ASAT Test Caps a Bad Year for the Due Regard Principle in Space

It's time for States to take positions on their treaty obligation to act with "due regard" to the interests of others in outer space.

Jan. 12, 2022 John Goehring

An MQ-9 Reaper (ie. a drone) sits in a hangar during a sandstorm at Joint Base Balad, Iraq, Sept. 15, 2008.

Civilian Casualties in U.S. Air Wars: A Wake-up Call for Canada and its Future Use of Armed Drones?

Last month’s New York Times report that the American air wars in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan have been plagued by flawed intelligence, poor targeting, and thousands of civilian…

Jan. 4, 2022 Simon Bagshaw

Time for the Biden Administration to Disavow the Dangerous Soleimani Legal Opinions

The legal opinions' fundamental error: distorting accepted legal framework to fit inapposite facts. Still on the book, the opinions remain a loaded weapon for another president…

Jan. 3, 2022 Brian Finucane

Clouds pass over the Capitol Dome as the Senate resumes debate on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)(Photo by Joshua Roberts/Getty Images).

Amid Civilian Harm Revelations, Defense Bill Takes Measured Steps on Oversight and Accountability

Recent months have seen a flood of revelations concerning civilian harm resulting from U.S. military operations. The last U.S. airstrike of the war in Afghanistan, which killed…

Dec. 23, 2021 John Ramming Chappell and Ari Tolany

Digital fingerprint, conceptual computer illustration.

The Use of Biometric Technologies for Counter-terrorism Purposes in a Human Rights Vacuum

CTED's "best practices" on biometrics miss a key dimension: international human rights law guidance.

Dec. 20, 2021 Tomaso Falchetta

Behind what appears to be a makeshift fence, a woman carries a sack of grain on her head as she stops to buy some local pastries at a roadside stall in Wau, South Sudan, on February 1, 2020. About 13,000 civilians were sheltered there under UN protection adjacent to the field office of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), just outside Wau town. They had fled massacres and burnings of villages during a ruinous six-year conflict between forces loyal to the government of South Sudan President Salva Kiir and those of his political rival, former Vice President Riek Machar. A string of failed truces and hollow promises has spawned distrust in the two rival leaders now facing intense pressure to uphold a permanent peace agreement. (Photo by TONY KARUMBA/AFP via Getty Images)

In South Sudan, Keep UN Peacekeepers Focused on Evolving Risks for Civilians

The transfer of "protection of civilian" sites to the government amid continuing threats requires extra vigilance from UNMISS.

Dec. 17, 2021 Lauren Spink

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - AUGUST 30: U.S. Department of Defense Press Secretary John Kirby speaks at a press briefing (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images).

America Needs a War on Terror Transparency Act

The Pentagon has three months to investigate the disturbing New York Times report that the military conducted and covered up airstrikes in Baghuz, Syria that killed up to 64 civilians.…

Dec. 10, 2021 Steven Katz