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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.

Civilian HarmIsrael-Hamas WarRussia-UkraineSudanLaw of Armed Conflict/IHLUse of Force
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3,331 Articles
Children collect grain spilt on the field from gunny bags that ruptured upon ground impact following a food drop from a plane at a village in Ayod county, South Sudan, where World Food Programme (WFP) have just carried out a food drop of grain and supplementary aid on February 6, 2020.

A Landmark Report on Starvation as a Method of Warfare

On the 5th of October, the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, established in 2016 with a view to monitoring human rights and facilitating transitional justice in the country,…
Nov. 13, 2020
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.

COVID-19 and International Law Series: International Humanitarian Law – Humanitarian Access

As COVID-19 spreads unchecked in war-torn areas around the world, the international humanitarian law principle of humanitarian access has become more urgent than ever. Local health…
Nov. 12, 2020 , and 1 more
Patmanathan Kokilavani holds photos of her two children at a protest site for loved ones of the disappeared on May 13, 2019 in Mullaitivu, Sri Lanka. Behind her are numerous photos strung on a wall of others who are disappeared.

Human Shields and Proportionality: How Legal Experts Defended War Crimes in Sri Lanka

The Sri Lankan Civil War constitutes an unprecedented case in terms of the number of people who were framed as human shields and the mobilization of prominent human rights…
Nov. 12, 2020 and
A picture taken on October 16, 2020 shows a destroyed tank in the city of Jabrayil, where Azeri forces regained control during the fighting over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict and the Exercise of “Self-Defense” to Recover Occupied Land

The fighting raised a fundamental but surprisingly overlooked question of international law on the use of force.
Nov. 10, 2020 and
The damaged interior of the hospital in which the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) medical charity operated is seen on October 13, 2015 following an air strike in the northern city of Kunduz.

COVID-19 and International Law Series: International Humanitarian Law – Conduct of Hostilities

Airstrikes on hospitals. Targeting medical personnel. Cutting off water supplies. Respect for IHL rules is as essential as ever during a pandemic. How do principles of distinction,…
Nov. 10, 2020 , and 1 more
Medical workers in personal protective equipment (PPE) test for COViD-19 at Abyssinian Baptist Church.

COVID-19 and International Law Series: Introduction

States’ responses to COVID-19 are governed by international law; likewise, State responses will impact these rules and norms. What are the legal constraints on State action to…
Nov. 10, 2020 , and 2 more
US sailors stand next to F/A-18 Super Hornets parked on the bow of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) anchored off Manila bay on June 26, 2018.

Anticipating the Human Costs of Great Power Conflict

Conspicuously absent from policy and planning documents about great power conflict is a clear-eyed assessment of the likely human costs of such a conflict or considerations for…
Nov. 9, 2020 , and 3 more
A chart measuring media and social media mentions of mail-in voting or absentee balloting and fraud or election rigging from March 1, 2020 to August 31, 2020. The y axis is measured as a percent ranging from 0% to 900% and the x axis is a measure of time with markers for every seven days. The line measuring “tweets compared to mean” has the largest peaks on approximately 4/7, 5/11, 5/23, 5/27, 6/23, 6/28, and 7/12. The graph also shows images of Trump’s tweets and screenshots from news stations.

Six Disinformation Threats in the Post-Election Period

Those seeking to sow discord may be keeping their powder dry until after November 3rd.
Nov. 3, 2020
Suzan Aref, founder and director of Women Empowerment Organization in Iraq discusses a national report on implementation of the country’s first national action plan on women, peace and security, pursuant to U.N. Security Council Resolution 1325, at the United Nations in January 2019.

UN Resolution on Women, Peace, and Security Stumbles in Iraq When It’s Needed Most

Civil society fights hard to be heard above the din of war, displacement, political dysfunction and the ebbs and flows of international aid.
Oct. 31, 2020
A Somali woman walks in an internally displaced people (IDP) camp as hundreds of people recently fled from southern Somalia US's airstrikes against al Shebab, in Baidoa, autonomous South West State of Somalia, on December 18, 2018.

Plan to Pull U.S. Troops from Somalia is Cold Comfort Amid Civilian Toll of Air War

AFRICOM insists its aim is to ‘degrade’ al-Shabaab. But the US military campaign is taking a heavy toll on civilians and civilian infrastructure.
Oct. 31, 2020
Hands on bars wrapped with barbed wire

Geneva Convention III Commentary: Unpacking the Potential of “Ensure Respect” in Common Article 1

[Just Security is publishing a series on the ICRC’s updated Commentaries to the Third Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War (2020). This GCIII Commentary series is published…
Oct. 30, 2020
A piece of parchment reading, "The Good Governance Papers - A Collection of Essays - Written in favor of the Constitution and Rule of Law - As written upon by Just Security - Fall 2020"

Good Governance Paper No. 14: War Powers Reform

Essay in a series of top experts exploring proposals to restore and promote nonpartisan principles of good government, public integrity, and the rule of law.
Oct. 30, 2020 and
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