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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 WarLaw of Armed Conflict/IHLRussia-UkraineSudanUse of Force
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3,316 Articles
A sign indicates the presence of landmines on April 5, 2019 in Opytne, Ukraine.

The World’s Landmine Challenge Demands Presidential Action

If the international community can assemble the right leadership and resources over the next five years, the global plague of anti-personnel mines can be eliminated from the planet,…
Apr. 2, 2020
US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell (C), the Presidents of Kosovo Hashim Thaci (L background) and Serbia Aleksandar Vucic (R background) watch the signing of an agreement between Kosovo and Serbia for railway and street projects.

US Burns Credibility in Grenell Quest for Foreign Policy Win, as Kosovo Government Falls

Amid COVID19 crisis, Special Envoy Richard Grenell's pressure on Kosovo precipitates collapse of popular and promising reformist government.
Apr. 2, 2020 and
A watch tower is seen in the currently closed Camp X-Ray at the U.S. Naval Station on June 27, 2013 in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Barbed wire can be seen in both the background and foreground of the photo.

Guantanamo’s COVID-19 Precautions Must Safeguard Detainees’ Rights

Even if the virus does not reach the detainees, some of the precautions that Guantanamo is taking could at once undermine detainees’ rights, including access to counsel, and…
Mar. 31, 2020
A nurse checks a computer screen during a COVID-19 novel coronavirus test at a testing booth outside Yangji hospital in Seoul on March 17, 2020. The booth is set up with plastic between the nurse and the patient with glove hand portals similar to intensive care units for babies or those with cancer. The nurse is in a full body jumpsuit, wears a mask, a face shield, and gloves.

Cyber Attacks against Hospitals and the COVID-19 Pandemic: How Strong are International Law Protections?

Experts have already warned of indications that some “coronavirus-themed cyberattack campaigns” may have been carried out by States. At this stage, however, no such allegation…
Mar. 27, 2020 , and 1 more
Kitchen staff prepare food while wearing protective clothing at a restaurant in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on March 24, 2020 amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

COVID-19 and Humanitarian Access in Starvation-Affected Countries: Part 1 – Yemen

The blanket denial of appropriate humanitarian aid distribution and personnel access by parties to the ongoing conflict in Yemen, citing the COVID-19 pandemic, could exacerbate…
Mar. 26, 2020 and
Pompeo speaks with press

Is Pompeo Unintentionally Helping Out the International Criminal Court?

While likely doing little to dissuade those at the ICC and elsewhere who are committed to seeking accountability for the United States’ previous rendition and torture program,…
Mar. 25, 2020
A displaced Syrian girl looks around at the camp created by Turkey's Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) in Kafr Lusin village on the border with Turkey in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib on March 10, 2020. Tents and laundry hang behind her.

Turkey’s Humanitarian Rationale for its Idlib Offensive in Syria

The legality of forcible humanitarian intervention is the subject of great debate. But the situation in Idlib over the past year had grown catastrophic.
Mar. 24, 2020
An Afghan policeman with a large gun and without a face mask gestures as volunteers wearing hazmat suits and facemasks gather outdoors before the start of a preventive campaign against the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, in Kabul on March 18, 2020.

COVID-19 and Violent Conflict: Responding to Predictable Unpredictability

Eleven baseline understandings are likely to be key in designing the most effective responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in impoverished, conflict-affected regions.
Mar. 24, 2020
Destruction at Karbala airport in the Iraqi shrine city, one of the areas targeted by US military air strikes against a pro-Iranian group in Iraq following the deaths of two Americans and a Briton in a rocket attack the previous night on a US base in Taji. Some soldiers inspect the damage while others stand guard with guns. March 13, 2020

It’s Time Iraq Accepts Legal Responsibility for Its Iran-Backed Militias

Legal reform of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMFs) would have a more durable effect on these hostile militias than a few US air strikes.
Mar. 23, 2020
A fighter with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) monitors on surveillance screens, crowded prison cells filled with people accused of being affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) group, at a prison in the northeastern Syrian city of Hasakeh on October 26, 2019.

Repatriating Foreign Fighters from Syria: International Law and Political Will (Part 2)

The detention conundrum: States rely on non-state groups for counterterrorism operations, but they are simultaneously reluctant to accept the return of terrorists captured and…
Mar. 20, 2020
US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad and Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar shake hands after signing a peace agreement during a ceremony in the Qatari capital Doha on February 29, 2020.

The U.S.-Taliban Agreement: Not a Ceasefire, or a Peace Agreement, and Other International Law Issues

Beatrice Walton explains the continuing lack of clarity concerning the terms of the recent Afghan peace deal and its potential effects moving forward.
Mar. 19, 2020
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at a press conference at the State Department in Washington DC, on March 17, 2020.

Former Officials Challenge Pompeo’s Threats to the International Criminal Court

A statement by former U.S. Ambassadors for War Crimes and U.S. Chief Prosecutors.
Mar. 18, 2020 , and 4 more
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