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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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3,314 Articles
A sign reading, “Government property no trespassing,” is posted at the U.S. Border Patrol station where lawyers reported that detained migrant children had been held unbathed and hungry in Clint, Texas. June 26, 2019

We Treat America’s Wartime Detainees Better Than Migrant Children

Migrant children held in temporary government custody should be detained in conditions superior to those of enemy fighters detained during wartime. Today, it appears they are not.…
Jul. 10, 2019
General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, Iran's Head of the Revolutionary Guard's aerospace division, looks at debris from a downed US drone reportedly recovered within Iran's territorial waters and put on display by the Revolutionary Guard in the capital Tehran on June 21, 2019.

Self-Defense in International Law: What Level of Evidence?

With the question of whether Iran's actions justify the use of force, the issue of evidence is once again at the forefront of international debate. So, how much evidence does a…
Jul. 8, 2019
Iran's Ambassador to the United Nations Majid Takht Ravanchi holds up maps of the Strait of Hormuz while speaking to the media before a meeting with other UN members on the escalating situation with the United States At United Nation headquarters on June 24, 2019 in New York City.

Iran’s Shifting Views on Self-Defense and ‘Intraterritorial’ Force

Iran’s justification for shooting down a US drone suggests a subtle shift in its understanding of international law.
Jul. 3, 2019 and
A laptop displays a message after being infected by a ransomware as part of a worldwide cyberattack on June 27, 2017 in Geldrop.

Cyberattack Attribution and the Virtues of Decentralization

In the midst of rising tensions between the United States and Iran over tanker attacks and Iran’s downing of a U.S. drone, reports emerged that U.S. Cyber Command had launched…
Jul. 3, 2019
Members of the Syrian Civil Defence, also known as the "White Helmets", carry away a body on a stretcher following a reported government air strike in the village of Benin, about 30 kilometres south of Idlib in northwestern Syria, on June 19, 2019.

To Stem the Flow of Refugees, Address the Conflicts at Their Core

If the railing about migrants is genuine rather than politically convenient, it’s time to apply the prodigious talents, skills, and still surprisingly robust political capital…
Jul. 2, 2019
Just Security

After Sudan’s Attacks on Protesters, Crucial Next Steps for the U.S.

(Editor’s note: This is the second of two articles on the Sudan security forces’ June 3 attacks on peaceful demonstrators and what may happen next. The first article detailed…
Jun. 28, 2019
Just Security

Anticipating the President’s Way Around the War Powers Resolution on Iran: Lessons of the 1980s Tanker Wars

Former senior State Department lawyer, Todd Buchwald, who worked on war powers issues during the 1980s Tanker Wars involving U.S. military actions against Iran, explains how the…
Jun. 28, 2019
Sudanese protesters walk past burning tyres during a demonstration in Khartoum's twin city of Omdurman on June 3, 2019.

As Sudan Deadline Looms, a Playbook for a Massacre

The live ammunition, tear gas, and severe beatings that Sudanese security forces unleashed on peaceful demonstrators on June 3 shook the country’s pro-democracy movement and…
Jun. 27, 2019
The detainee hospital's operating room is seen in Camp Delta which is part of the U.S. military prison for 'enemy combatants' on June 26, 2013 in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Deprivation and Despair: The Crisis of Medical Care at Guantánamo

The Center for Victims of Torture, along with Physicians for Human Rights, released a joint report today finding that Guantánamo’s medical care system has long been broken in…
Jun. 26, 2019
A person walks through the remains of the Al-Senidar Factory Complex in Sana’a, Yemen after a September 2016 airstrike involving a UK-made Raytheon-manufactured bomb destroyed large parts of the factory complex and damaged at least one house nearby.

U.K. Court Nixes Saudi Arms Sales–What it Means for the US and Other EU Countries

The court ruled, in essence, that in making decisions on arms sales, the U.K. government could no longer ignore uncomfortable facts. The result also could provide guidance to other…
Jun. 24, 2019 and
Logo for Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission United States Congress - Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Tom Lantos Commission: Enhancing U.S. Ability to Pursue Accountability for Atrocities

I had the honor of testifying last week before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission at a hearing devoted to “Pursuing Accountability for Atrocities.” My written testimony…
Jun. 17, 2019
Women and children evacuated from the Islamic State (IS) group's embattled holdout of Baghouz arrive at a screening area held by the US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), in the eastern Syrian province of Deir Ezzor, on March 6, 2019.

Repatriating ISIS Families: An Opportunity to Show that “Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism” Can Work

Working with returning mothers and children may be the best opportunity that any country, or the international community more broadly, will ever have to get preventing/countering…
Jun. 14, 2019 and
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