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 hand draws on an electronic touch board the letters “AI” with lines and circles radiating outward.

Adding AI to Autonomous Weapons Increases Risks to Civilians in Armed Conflict

A new report from the National Security Commission on AI advocated for the use of AI but also highlighted key risks posed by AI-enabled and autonomous weapons, particularly the…
Supporters of the Yemeni Huthi rebels take to the streets of the capital Sanaa to protest against the blockade imposed on their country by the Saudi coalition, on February 26, 2021. An overpass and the street leading into it are packed with protestors. Side streets are lined with cars and buses blocking the way.

Biden Says He Wants to End the Yemen War: These Should Be His Next Steps

A fair and just UN-led peace process requires the Saudis to end the blockade and the Security Council to replace an outdated resolution on the war.
A screen shot from the UN Security Council’s Arria-Formula meeting on February 24, 2021 held via Zoom.

Self-Defense Against Non-State Actors: All Over the Map

Insights from UN Security Council Arria-Formula Meeting
Syrian Kurds, one of them carrying a Kurdish YPG (People's Protection Units) flag, watch as a US military vehicle drives on a road after US forces pulled out of their base in the Northern Syrian town of Tal Tamr, on October 20, 2019.

Revitalizing Alliances to Counter Terrorism

Rebuilding U.S. credibility as a counterterrorism partner starts at home.
A wide view of the Trusteeship Council Chamber during a joint open briefing by the Chairs of Security Council committees engaged in countering the financing of terrorism, as well as by the President of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), on their respective roles. The room appears to be full and a large projection screen shows a member sitting at the panel in the front of the room.

Protecting Civil Society in Global Counterterrorism: FATF Leads the Way, UN Should Follow

Through the work of advocates, FATF has improved its engagement with and protection of civil society. UN counterterrorism bodies could learn from FATF's approach.
Smoke rises from tires burning at barricades erected by protesters after military junta forces attempted to attack them on March 16, 2021 in Yangon, Myanmar.

No Military Solutions: A New Approach to Preventing Atrocities

To be a credible proponent of peace, the US must shed destabilizing security ties and unneeded military capabilities, and invest in conflict prevention.
Internally Displaced People, fleeing from violence in the Metekel zone in Western Ethiopia, walk on a route as others stand below in a camp in Chagni, Ethiopia, on January 28, 2021.

Ethiopia, Take a Lesson from Sudan and Stop the War in Tigray

Ethiopia need only look to Sudan to realize what’s at stake for the country and its people and to understand the consequences of history repeating itself.
International Red Cross and Red Crescent workers keep watch at an airport in the southern city of Aden, the interim seat of the Yemeni government, on October 16, 2020, as the war-torn country began swapping 1,000 prisoners in a complex operation overseen by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Fixing “Material Support” — Lessons from the Houthi Terror Designation

Reversing the Trump administration's disastrous designation was a good first step - but the US must address fundamental flaws in the material support statutes to ensure continued…
Saudi-backed government troops repel a Huthi rebel offensive on oil-rich Marib, some 120 kilometres (75 miles) east of Yemen's rebel-held capital Sanaa, on February 14, 2021. The photo shows one vehicle with a large weapon passing a person running away. The vehicle kicks up a lot of dust causing low visibility.

The Fight for Marib Threatens Millions of Lives in Yemen

Today, one of the most alarming, and under-appreciated, humanitarian issues in Yemen is the escalation of conflict in the governorate of Marib.
Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapakse and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse, neither who wear face masks, are surrounded by others, many who wear face masks, as they leave the new cabinet swearing-in ceremony at the Buddhist Temple of the Tooth in the ancient hill capital of Kandy, some 116 km from Colombo on August 12, 2020.

When War Criminals Run the Government: Not Too Late for the International Community to Vet Sri Lankan Officials

Developing such a list of individuals would signal to survivors some measure of recognition of the atrocities they have suffered.
office, Dragan Covic, addresses the media after voting, in Mostar, on October 7, 2018, as Bosnia and Herzegovina holds it's general elections.

Is the US Doubling Down on Division in Bosnia and Herzegovina?

A dangerously misguided policy embracing a nefarious election gambit threatens Joe Biden's otherwise proud legacy dating to the 1990s war.
A Yemeni child standing under a damaged building looks out of a missing wall at buildings that were heavily damaged in an air strike in the southern Yemeni city of Taez.

Legally Sliding into War

"We need to grapple with the legal mechanisms through which presidential administration after administration has legally justified escalating, elongating, and expanding conflicts…
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