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.
3,544 Articles

“Just fall, that is all!” Is Sudan on the Brink of Change?
Sudan has entered the third month of widespread and sustained protests across the country, and there is now some indication that President Omar al-Bashir’s grip on power is weakening.…

What’s the Mission in Syria? The Answer May be Illegal and Without U.S. Allies’ Support
Statements about a US "peacekeeping" force and a mission to counter-Iran raise serious legal questions and threaten to unravel U.S. allies' support for future U.S. operations inside…

Human Rights Law and U.S. Military Operations in Foreign Countries: The Prohibition on Arbitrary Deprivation of Life
The view that the U.S. government does not accept that international human rights law applies to US activities in foreign countries is mistaken., writes Goodman. The Department…

National Security at the United Nations This Week
At the UN this week: ISIL remains a global threat, the US and Russia draft rival Security Council resolutions on Venezuela, the UN welcomes a new peace accord in the Central African…

Secretary Pompeo: More Russia Sanctions Are Coming … Sometime
This article is cross-posted at Steptoe International Compliance Blog. On February 13, 2019, the State Department provided a summary of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s recent…

ICC Judge Schmitt Counsels Resilience to Preserve International Justice
Editor’s note: At a difficult time for the International Criminal Court (ICC)—criticism over recent rulings, resistance from current and prospective members, and threats from…

The Pentagon’s Latest Report on Civilian Casualties Policy
Late on Friday night, the Pentagon submitted to Congress and publicly released a 17-page report required under the 2019 John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)…

Congress, Saudi Arabia, and the Conflict in Yemen: Where do We Go from Here?
Congress has strong options to constrain U.S. involvement in Yemen's civil war and hold Saudi Arabia's leadership accountable for human rights abuses, including the killing of…

General Comment 36: A Missed Opportunity?
General Comment 36 on the human right to life under article 6 of the ICCPR adopts the view that both international humanitarian law (IHL) and human rights law (IHRL) apply during…

EXCLUSIVE: FBI’s War Crimes Unit on the Chopping Block
The FBI's International Human Rights Unit may be dissolved, according to US officials. Here's why that's a bad idea, writes Beth Van Schaack.

National Security at the United Nations This Week
This week at the UN: detention of Turkic Muslims in China, the potential end of the Temporary International Presence in Hebron, North Korean sanctions violations, a call to action…

Avoiding the Next Yemen: Applying Hard Lessons for Security Partnerships
The humanitarian crisis in Yemen, wrought by a conflict entering its fourth year, has called into question the nature and purpose of American security partnership with Saudi Arabia.…