Human Rights
Just Security’s expert authors offer in-depth analysis on critical human rights challenges, including those related to armed conflict, emerging technologies, abuses by authoritarian governments, repression of human rights advocates and independent media, human rights litigation, racial justice, gender equality, and more.
3,057 Articles
A Humanitarian Exception to the Principle of Non-Intervention?: Measures Below the Use of Armed Force to Save Aleppo
Do the atrocities in Aleppo and elsewhere in Syria permit the United States and other states to engage in intrusive actions against the Assad regime that would not ordinarily be…
Different Human Rights at Home and Abroad: Immunity for British Soldier during Overseas Operations
Yesterday, October 4, 2016, U.K. Defence Secretary Michael Fallon proclaimed that British soldiers need to be protected from “spurious claims.” He said that soldiers should…
The UK’s New Derogation Policy for Armed Conflicts: Making a Success of the European Convention on Human Rights?
Speaking at the annual conference of the Conservative Party on October 4, U.K. Defence Secretary Michael Fallon sought to reassure Britain’s nervous allies and the general public…
Whose Armed Conflict? Which Law of Armed Conflict?
When one state, say, the United States, uses military force on the territory of another state, say, Syria or Pakistan, without the consent of that state, what legal rules constrain…
It is Time for the ICC to open a Preliminary Examination in the Philippines
The appalling announcement of President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines that he would like “to slaughter” three million drug addicts in his country, much as “Hitler massacred…
The UK’s Al-Saadoon Case: Stepping Back From the Extraterritorial Application of the ECHR for Physical Force
On September 9, the United Kingdom’s Court of Appeal delivered its judgment in Al-Saadoon and Others v. Secretary of State for Defence. This is a case dealing with almost 1,300…

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…
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…
Application of Human Rights Law to Military Actions Abroad: A Recent UK Judgment
Last month, the English High Court issued a judgment in Kontic v. Ministry of Defence, a case that dealt with whether and when the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) applies…
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…
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…
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…