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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
Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford and Patrick M. Shanahan, Acting U.S. Secretary of Defense, are seen before a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on April 11, 2019 in Washington, DC.

New DoD Policy on Amends Needs to Address Transparency Gap

New information from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) reveals a previously unrecognized transparency gap in the U.S. military’s efforts to acknowledge and address civilian…
Apr. 23, 2019

Trump Endorses U.S. Citizen-Turned Libyan Warlord, Despite Video Evidence of Haftar’s Ordering War Crimes

"While American news networks were gripped by blanket coverage of the Mueller report on Friday, the White House released a statement describing a most unusual and supportive phone…
Apr. 22, 2019
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Milorad Dodik, the Serb member of Bosnia's tripartite presidency, in Belgrade on January 17, 2019.

Serb ‘Auxiliary Force’ Escalates Threats to Bosnia’s Stability

Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik risks plunging Bosnia, and with it the volatile Western Balkans, into the region’s worst security crisis since the end of the Yugoslav Wars.
Apr. 22, 2019
United Nations Security Council meeting on January 25, 2019 at the United Nations in New York.

National Security at the United Nations This Week

Editors’ Note: This is the latest in Just Security’s weekly series keeping readers up to date on developments at the United Nations at the intersection of national security,…
Apr. 19, 2019
A sign reading, "Office of Military Commissions Expeditionary Legal Complex Guantanamo Bay, Cuba" stands close to where pre-trial hearings are being held for the detainees at the military prison on June 25, 2013 in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Al-Nashiri III: A No Good, Very Bad Day for U.S. Military Commissions

A stunning, unanimous opinion of the DC Court of Appeals throws out every single pretrial order issued over the past 3 1/2 years in case of Al-Nashiri. What this says about the…
Apr. 16, 2019
A woman wears a mask and holds a banner reading "Chemical massacre in Syria" on August 28, 2013 outside the Swedish Parliament in Stockholm, during a demonstration against the mass killings in Syria. The poster also shows photos of children that died.

What is a War Crime?

A substantive approach to defining "war crimes" as serious violations of international humanitarian law could help bring a measure of justice in Syria and beyond.
Apr. 15, 2019 , and 2 more
Attorney General nominee William Barr (C) is sworn in prior to testifying at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee January 15, 2019 in Washington, DC.

Barr’s Playbook: He Misled Congress When Omitting Parts of Justice Dep’t Memo in 1989

When Bill Barr was head of Office of Legal Counsel, he gave Congress the legal conclusions and reasoning of an important Justice Department memo but left out major portions of…
Apr. 15, 2019
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir delivers a speech to the nation on February 22, 2019, at the presidential palace in the capital Khartoum.

Julian Assange and Omar al-Bashir: What Comes Next for Two Global Fugitives?

Yesterday was a breathtaking one for global criminal justice. First, British police arrested Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy in London and then, just hours later, the…
Apr. 12, 2019
United Nations Security Council meeting on January 25, 2019 at the United Nations in New York.

National Security at the United Nations This Week

The ICC rejects prosecutor Bensouda's request to open an investigation into the situation in Afghanistan, the UN calls for a ceasefire amid escalations in Libya, and Sudanese President…
Apr. 12, 2019
Sudanese anti-regime demonstrators, holding up a banner calling for "Freedom, Peace and Justice" carry on with their protest on April 11, 2019 in the area around the army headquarters in Sudan's capital Khartoum.

Ouster of Sudan’s Bashir Is Only the Beginning

After 30 years in power, Sudan President Omar al-Bashir is finally out. But the coming days, weeks, and months will be precarious: concerns over the military takeover, a proliferation…
Apr. 12, 2019
Assyrian Christians, who had fled the unrest in Syria and Iraq, attend a prayer for the 220 Assyrian Christians abducted by Islamic State group jihadists from villages in northeastern Syria in recent days, at the Saint Georges Assyrian Church in Jdeideh, northeast of the Lebanese capital Beirut on February 26, 2015. One person holds a sign reading, “Assyrian Genocide 1915 Never Again!”

Accountability for War Crimes in Syria: The “Criminalization” Confusion

A new approach to defining what constitutes a "war crime" is needed to ensure domestic courts can provide accountability for war crimes committed in Syria.
Apr. 11, 2019 , and 2 more
U.S. Soldiers stand in formation during a logistics course graduation ceremony.

Transparency on Civilian Harm in Somalia Matters – Not Just to Americans

"Under the Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations, much of the commentary on the use of lethal force in counterterrorism operations has focused on the importance of transparency…
Apr. 9, 2019 , and 1 more
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