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
Autonomous Weapon Systems and the Decision to Kill
The decision to kill other humans lies at the heart of concerns over Autonomous Weapon Systems (AWS). Human judgment regarding whether lives will be taken and objects destroyed…
A Careless Attack on the UN’s Commission of Inquiry on Syria
Over on Lawfare, Lt. Col. Shane Reeves and Lt. Col. Ward Narramore have published a critique of the latest report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the…
Libya’s Haftar and Liability of Superiors: Ordering Offenses v. Responsibility for Omissions
Further to Just Security’s coverage on Tuesday of the potential war crimes liability of U.S citizen/Libyan warlord General Khalifa Haftar, this article discusses the distinction…
Smoking Gun Videos Emerge: US Citizen, Libyan Warlord Haftar Ordering War Crimes
The International Criminal Court very recently issued an arrest warrant for a militia leader in Libya which should catch the attention of U.S. policymakers, diplomats and prosecutors…
Protecting Civilians Critical to Syria Talks’ Success
“They will kill us all,” Ahmad, a Syrian aid worker, told me last month, referring to the many armed parties to the Syrian conflict. We were talking about Idlib, a province…
Global Group of Civil Society Organizations Raise Concerns about U.S.-led Drone Export Initiative
On Tuesday, 19 civil society organizations from around the world issued a joint statement with their concerns about a U.S.-led initiative that seeks to set out international standards…
After 16 Years of War, Senate Finally Debates Need for War Debate
After 15 years of no debate on the floor of the Congress since the last war authorization and 16 years of war—the longest in the nation’s history—the U.S. Senate spent 45…
Senate Appropriations Bill Rejects Trump’s Efforts to Downsize State Department and USAID
Last week, the Senate Committee on Appropriations, chaired by Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), approved a State & Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill for fiscal year 2018.…
Erik Prince’s ‘New Band of Flying Tigers’ is a Sequel We Don’t Need
It shouldn’t be too surprising that in his recent New York Times op-ed calling for an infusion of private contractors into Afghanistan, Erik Prince sidestepped any discussion…
South Sudan: The Crisis Continues
The humanitarian crisis in South Sudan continues to worsen with civilians growing increasingly desperate and conditions showing little sign of improvement. July saw the greatest…
Legal Questions About the Airstrike Against the ISIS “Happy Journeys” Convoy
This week American-led airstrikes deterred the advance of a convoy carrying a group of ISIS fighters and civilians as it traveled from Lebanon to an ISIS safe-haven in Syria. The…
What Can Stop the Next Black Hawk Down: Risks to Special Operation Forces in the Trump Era
(Editors’ note: This article first appeared as a three-part series. We are reproducing it here in full.) Twenty-four years ago this month, President Bill Clinton, a first-term…