Armed Conflict

Just Security’s expert authors provide analysis on the legal, policy, and strategic dimensions of armed conflict, including the Russia-Ukraine war, the Israel-Hamas war, counterterrorism operations, conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa, and other armed conflicts across the globe, with a focus on international humanitarian law, war crimes and accountability, mitigating and remedying civilian harm, and the humanitarian impacts of warfare.

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3,316 Articles
A protester holds a placard reading "Parasites! Your Host Is Dying!" during a demonstration in front of the Bosnian government building in the centre of Sarajevo, on April 6, 2021.

Human Rights Plaintiff: US-EU Election Plan for Bosnia Rewards Nationalist Agendas

A politically expedient "fix" would sideline citizens, including those who fought to open the system via the European Court of Human Rights.
Trucks carry troops along a dirt road. They carry guns.

Failure to Warn: War Powers Reporting and the “War on Terror” in Africa

How prior administrations failed to tell Congress about special forces engaged in combat operations in Cameroon, Niger, Somalia, Tunisia, and what it means for War Powers and AUMF…
Malian Muslim militant Al-Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud attends his trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, The Netherlands, on July 8, 2019.

Expanding Justice for Gender-Based Crimes with a Treaty on Crimes Against Humanity

Such a legal framework could be transformative for so many who have been left out or on the margins of existing mechanisms, including women.
A person with a dog walks in the snow near the DEW line (Defensive Early Warning Line) station near Kaktovik, Alaska, once part of an early warning radar system established by the US military to watch for nuclear bombers and missiles coming in from the Soviet Union.

The Role of Nuclear Weapons: Why Biden Should Declare a Policy of No First Use

With the administration preparing its Nuclear Posture Review, such a declaration would significantly reduce the risks of nuclear war.
The United Nations headquarters in New York

Polemical Pacifism: The Wonkfare of Samuel Moyn

NYU's Rob Howse reviews Samuel Moyn's latest book, Humane.
A Bosnian Muslim signs a book in a makeshift memorial for Bosnian Muslim victims on November 22, 2017 in The Hague, The Netherlands. Photographs dangle on strings at the memorial.

The Relay Race of Defining Crimes Against Humanity – From the International Tribunals to the Draft Articles

At times the baton was dropped; at other times, drafters successfully overcame the hurdles in the process, as with the ICC Statute.
Diane Foley, the mother of slain ISIS hostage James Foley, stands alongside the parents of slain ISIS hostage Kayla Mueller, Carl Mueller and Marsha Mueller, and family members of 2 other slain ISIS hostages, following the guilty pleas by Alexanda Kotey, a member of the notorious Islamic State kidnapping cell dubbed the "Beatles," to charges of conspiring to murder four American hostages, including Mueller and Foley, outside the the US District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, September 2, 2021.

Impact-Based Jurisdiction and Crimes Against Humanity Statutes Are Needed for Effective Accountability

The answer is to fully enact international criminal law at the national level and to provide for its maximum reach.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Afghan all-female robotics team members at Qatar's Education City Club House in Doha on September 7, 2021.

The Last Days in Afghanistan Should Not Deter Biden from Looking Beyond the 9/11 Paradigm

It's time to get off this loop. But ending “endless wars” should not be equated with simplistic solutions.
Norng Chan Phal, who survived internment at the Tuol Sleng prison known as S-21 as a child, looks at portraits of victims of the Khmer Rouge regime displayed at Tuol Sleng genocide museum in Phnom Penh on September 2, 2020.

Crimes of Omission: Why a UN Treaty on Genocide but Not on Crimes Against Humanity?

It is a matter of historical curiosity, and it's time for the UN to reunite genocide with its genus by concluding a parallel treaty.
Members of the UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) Italian contingent gather in the village of Seddiqine in the southern Lebanese district of Tyre, from near where four rockets were fired towards Israel, on May 19, 2021. They stand in front of an armored vehicle.

Why the UN Needs a Comprehensive “Agenda for Protection”

The UN has repeatedly failed to fulfill its mission to protect civilians. A protection agenda could help it succeed.
The empty courtroom of the U.S. Supreme Court is seen September 30, 2016. Curtains are parted to reveal chairs, pews, and the seats for the judges at the front of the room.

Activism and Consequences

A response to Margulies and Azmy.
U.S. dollar and Afghan banknotes in a pile.

Reassessing Counter Terrorism Financing in a Taliban-Controlled Afghanistan

The Taliban’s rapid takeover of Afghanistan set back decades-long efforts to integrate Afghanistan into the international community. Nowhere is this more apparent than on anti-money…
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