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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3,526 Articles
A guard tower is seen outside the fencing of Camp 5 at the US Military's Prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba on January 26, 2017.

D.C. Circuit Considers Limits on Guantanamo Detention

The court will hear oral arguments today in Abdul Razak Ali v. Trump on the central question of whether the Due Process Clause applies to limit the length of detention at Guantanamo…
Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump shake hands before a meeting in Helsinki, on July 16, 2018.

Trump’s Aim to Go Big on Nuclear Arms Control Should Begin by Extending New START

If President Trump actually seeks to avoid an arms race, maintain a cap on the Russian nuclear arsenal, and create the conditions for follow-on talks with Russia and new negotiations…
A Ukrainian serviceman patrols by a destroyed coal mine of Butovka at the front line with Russia-backed separatists not far from the town of Avdiivka, Donetsk region on November 7, 2019.

Warning Signs as Ukraine-Russia Peace Talks Resume

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy likely feels the time for a breakthrough is now. The question is at what cost, and whether the West will have his back.
Liberia's President-elect and former football star George Weah attends his swearing-in ceremony on January 22, 2018 in Monrovia.

Next Steps in Liberia’s Long Quest for Justice, 10 Years After Commission Report

A full decade after Liberia's Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommended establishment of a war crimes court to seek justice for atrocities during the country's 14 years of…
A military officer stands near the entrance to Camp VI at the U.S. military prison for 'enemy combatants' on June 25, 2013 in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

9/11 Case: Military Commission Convening Authority to Be Called as a Witness as to His Own Bias

W. Shane Cohen, the current judge presiding over the 9/11 case at Guantánamo Bay, has ordered the compulsion of testimony from the Office of Military Commissions’ convening…
U.S. Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer (L) talks to Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson (R) prior to a hearing before Senate Armed Services Committee September 19, 2017 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

The Spencer Standoff with Trump over Gallagher Distracts from the Navy’s Real Problems

Focusing on Trump’s many faults in the Gallagher case obscures something even more troubling: the Navy has serious problems right now and its former leader, recently fired Secretary…
Germany's deputy permanent representative to the UN Jürgen Schulz, France's permanent representative to the UN, Nicolas de Rivière, Britain's permanent representative to the UN, Karen Pierce, Poland's permanent representative to the UN, Joanna Wronecka, and Belgium's permanent representative to the UN, Marc Pecsteen speak to the press at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on November 20, 2019 about the security situation in Israel prior to a Security Council meeting on the "situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question."

National Security at the United Nations This Week

Security Council members condemn US policy shift on Israeli settlements, a Russia-sponsored cyber agreement that could pave the way for more Internet censorship moves forward,…
An aerial view of the Israeli settlement of Efrat near the Palestinian city of Bethlehem south of Jerusalem, in the occupied West Bank on November 19, 2019.

Assessing the New U.S. “View” on the Legality of Israeli Settlements in the West Bank

In his remarks to the press yesterday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the following with respect to the settlement of Israeli civilians in the West Bank.  I’ve highlighted…
Waad al-Kateab filming the ruins of a building destroyed by bombing in besieged east Aleppo, October 2016.

To Watch “For Sama” Is To Bear Witness

“To try and live a normal life in this place is to stand against the regime.” Those are the words of Waad al-Kateab, a young filmmaker and mother, who chronicles her life in…
A woman walks by a crater cause by a car bomb explosion in the town of Suluk in Syria's Turkish-controlled Tal Abyad border region on November 10, 2019, in which Ankara said at least eight people were killed and more than 20 wounded.

Turkey’s Syria Invasion: German Research Report Says Illegal on All Counts

A German parliamentary research report serves as an important reminder that evidence and proportionality matter, and that exceptions to the prohibition of the use of force should…
Antique Vintage Map of Europe

Trump Repudiates a Century of U.S. Policy

The United States has consistently held that it was in our national security interest to ensure that only peaceful means were used to alter political boundaries in Europe. The…
A poster for the Amazon original The Report.

Go See The Report, Then Let’s Put Torture to Bed For Good

The movie is a much-needed reminder that many people know very little about our government’s decision to torture in the aftermath of 9/11, and maybe even less about related developments…
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