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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3,308 Articles
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Would Arming Anti-Assad Rebels Trigger an “International Armed Conflict”—and War Crimes Prosecutions?

Earlier this week, Reuters reported that Gulf Arab States are considering arming militant groups in Syria to fend off Assad’s onslaught in Aleppo and elsewhere. There may be…

Triggers and Thresholds of Non-International Armed Conflict

When and where does the law of non-international armed conflict apply?  Since most contemporary armed conflicts are fought between states and organized armed groups, or between…
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Aiding and Abetting for Saudi War Crimes: Lessons from Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project

In 2010, human rights organizations argued in Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project that if we want to promote compliance with the law of armed conflict, we cannot punish advocacy…
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Two U.S. Positions on the Duty to Ensure Respect for the Geneva Conventions

When should the U.S. government reverse a previous U.S. interpretation of a treaty? Should there be a presumption against doing so, and what process and substantive reasons should…
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Just Security’s Questions for Clinton and Trump

Given the importance of tonight’s prime-time debate between US presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, we’re again running our list of vital national…
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Are the U.S. and U.K. parties to the Saudi-led armed conflict against the Houthis in Yemen?

A series of posts at Just Security have focused on the rules that apply to U.S. and U.K. support for the Saudi-led coalition’s military operations against the Houthi rebels…
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The Saudi Weapons Block Wouldn’t be the First: Some Past Examples of Halts on US Arms Transfers

In the United States, concerns over the conduct of the Saudi-led coalition in the war in Yemen have grown in intensity in recent weeks amid reports that US-supplied weapons have…
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Trump’s Calls to Pillage Iraqi Oil

In his appearance with Secretary Clinton at NBC’s Commander-in-Chief Forum earlier this month, Donald Trump called for actions that amount to a war crime. Addressing US policies…
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The Updated First Geneva Convention Commentary, DOD’s Law of War Manual, and a More Perfect Law of War: Part III

This third post of a series on the ICRC’s Updated Commentary on the First Geneva Convention of 1949 offers some concluding observations and further comparisons with the recent…
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Does the Int’l Criminal Court Have Jurisdiction over Alleged War Crimes by Saudi-Led Coalition in Yemen?

Does the International Criminal Court have jurisdiction over potential war crimes allegedly committed by the Saudi-led coalition in its battle against the Houthi rebels in Yemen?…
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Senators Move to Block US Arms Sale to Saudi Arabia

A bipartisan group of four US senators yesterday introduced a joint resolution aimed at blocking the U.S. sale of more than $1.15 billion in M1 Abrams tanks and other weapons…
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The DC Circuit’s Latest Ruling in Al-Nashiri: Why the Military Commissions Cannot Escape the Taint of CIA Torture

The DC Circuit’s recent ruling in In re Al-Nashiri missed an opportunity to clarify an important question in the current US military commissions: when did the armed conflict…
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