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.
3,526 Articles
The Drone Memos—The Book
My new book, The Drone Memos, will be published on November 15. It’s a collection of the most important legal and policy documents relating to the U.S. drone campaign, preceded…
From Brexit to African ICC Exit: A Dangerous Trend
Burundi, South Africa, and the Gambia are not violating international law merely by announcing their withdrawal from the Rome Statute that created the International Criminal Court.…
Beyond Gitmo: What is the US Going to Do About the Coming Wave of ISIL Detainees?
With the Mosul battle raging and the Raqqa offensive possibly weeks away, U.S. policymakers and government attorneys will be facing a familiar kind of problem: What is going to…
Technology and Autonomy in Warfare: A Consideration of the Issue by the US Defense Science Review Board
A new report from the Pentagon’s Defense Science Review Board (DSRB) provides a useful examination of the technical issues concerning the fielding of autonomous weapons. Unquestionably,…
UK Government’s Disappointing Dodge on Drones
A Royal Air Force Reaper RPAS (Remotely Piloted Air System) at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan- Wikimedia Commons [This post was first published 2:50EDT] The UK Government recently…
The Right to Life as the Jus ad Bellum of Non-International Armed Conflict (A Reply to Lieblich)
An important question raised in a recent post in Just Security is what law governs when a state can resort to military force against a threat from a non-state actor. Professor…
Full Text: “Oxford Guidance on Law of Relief Operations During Armed Conflict”
In today’s conflict zones, from Syria to Sudan, it is becoming increasingly difficult, if not impossible at times, for those providing humanitarian relief to reach the people…
Who is Responsible for the Yemen Funeral Bombing, and How?
The aftermath of a bombing by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. Photo: Almigdad Mojalli/IRIN The Saudi-led coalition has acknowledged, after initially denying, that it carried…
How We Read a NYT Story on UN Responsibility for Peacekeepers’ Misconduct
A new Haitian cholera vaccination program. Image by UN/MINUSTAH/Logan Abassi In this post, we’re trying something attempted once before at Just Security. Below, we present an…
Untangling the Web of Actors in Syria and Additional Complexities of Classifying Armed Conflicts
As the international community struggles to find solutions to the humanitarian crisis in Syria, several recent posts at Just Security and elsewhere have offered interpretations…
Shots Fired: A Reply to Gill and Watkin
Thanks to Terry Gill and Ken Watkin for their replies to my earlier post. To recall, the ICRC takes the view that the use of armed force by one State on the territory of another,…
Letter to the Editor: The Best Way to Protect Hospitals in Wartime—Enforce Existing Law
No warfighter should attack a facility that houses the infirm and those who care for them. Likewise, no able-bodied warfighter should seek protection in a medical facility, and…