Armed Conflict • International Law
Use of Force
952 Articles
Security Agreement With Afghanistan Raises Key Questions About How and When War Ends
Today, the United States and Afghanistan signed a long-awaited bilateral security agreement. The U.S. government promised to withdraw combat troops by December, and to leave nearly…
Having Crossed the Rubicon: Arming and Training Syrian Rebels
Significant public discussion has focused on whether airstrikes against ISIL in Syria violate the international legal prohibition on the use of force. Remarkably what has largely…
Towards a Global Debate? UN Human Rights Council Takes on Drones
On Monday, the UN Human Rights Council’s (HRC) expert panel on the use of armed drones and international law, expressed clear consensus around the need for greater transparency…
Australia, France, Netherlands Express Legal Reservations about Airstrikes in Syria [Updated]
In his speech before the United Nations on Wednesday, President Obama stated that “over 40 nations have offered to join this coalition” to dismantle the Islamic State of Iraq…
Strikes in Syria: The International Law Framework
[Cross-posted at Lawfare] As is now well-known, the United States last night hit approximately 25 targets inside Syria, some of which were directed at ISIL, and some at a group…
Remarkable statement by UN Secretary General on US Airstrikes in Syria
Were it not for the title of this post, you might never guess that it was the UN Secretary General who said this today: “I am aware that today’s strikes were not carried…
Human rights groups petition UN on drone strikes
At the UN Human Rights Council this week, a coalition of human rights groups is calling on all governments to take steps to monitor and promote transparency and legal compliance…
A Response to Jonathan Horowitz – Why Unwilling or Unable is Measured by a State’s Capacity to Act as Well as its Willingness to do so
Jonathan Horowitz responded to my earlier post and made two points about the “unable or unwilling” standard that I believe merit some clarification. Jonathan begins by agreeing…
When Institutions Fail: A Thought Experiment
[Editors’ Note: The following post is the second installment of a new feature, “Monday Reflections,” in which a different Just Security editor will take a…
Does the Unwilling/Unable Test Hang on Territorial Control?: A Response to Michael Lewis
Professor Yoram Dinstein has characterized war as something that would “appear every once in a while, leave death and devastation in its wake, and temporarily pass away to return…
International Law – and the Unwilling and Unable Test – for US Military Operations in Syria
I greatly appreciate Professor Mike Lewis’s contribution to our discussion of international law on potential US airstrikes inside Syria. In this post, I reply to Mike’s concerns…
The Erosion of a Secret
Drone Timeline (Click to Enlarge) In connection with an ACLU Freedom of Information Act lawsuit pending before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the CIA has…