International Law

Just Security offers expert analysis of international law and its role in addressing global challenges. Our coverage includes litigation in international and regional tribunals, the process of international law-making, analysis of compliance and accountability for international law violations–including international criminal justice, and challenges to the international legal order.

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3,737 Articles
Trump gestures in front of a line of American flags at the "Stop The Steal" Rally on January 06, 2021 in Washington, DC.

An Alternative to Impeachment: New Bill Helps Enforce Accountability for Capitol Riots

Experts explain how a new bill in Congress helps enforce accountability for federal officials who enabled the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
A medical doctor wearing a mask representing Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez takes part in a protest in Tegucigalpa on September 11, 2020, amid the new coronavirus pandemic. The doctor carries a 3-D coronavirus model in one hand and a sign in another hand.

To Combat Central America’s Bad Governance, Biden Can’t Just Throw Money at the Problem

The $4 billion in US aid will have to be carefully managed, and could be leveraged to combat the corruption and impunity that drives so many to migrate.
Relatives and friends hold photos of their missing loved ones at Galle Face promenade in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo on August 28, 2018.

Spotlight on Sri Lanka as UN Human Rights Council Prepares Next Session

Concerns over impunity and a troubling decline in human rights will be prominent, with a long-awaited report by the UN high commissioner for human rights.
A war memorial at Jaffna University before it was demolished, in Jaffna. The memorial is a statue of hands reaching toward the sky coming out of a pile of rubble.

UN Human Rights Council Outlines Sri Lanka Abuses, But Demurs on Action

It’s not the robust independent mechanism victims campaigned for, or the referral to the ICC that they deserve, but it is a potential path to justice.
A hand draws on an electronic touch board the letters “AI” with lines and circles radiating outward.

Adding AI to Autonomous Weapons Increases Risks to Civilians in Armed Conflict

A new report from the National Security Commission on AI advocated for the use of AI but also highlighted key risks posed by AI-enabled and autonomous weapons, particularly the…
A screen shot from the UN Security Council’s Arria-Formula meeting on February 24, 2021 held via Zoom.

Self-Defense Against Non-State Actors: All Over the Map

Insights from UN Security Council Arria-Formula Meeting
A Bosnian Muslim woman cries between graves of her father, two grandfathers and other close relatives, all victims of Srebrenica genocide, July 10, 2020, at the cemetery in Potocari near Srebrenica, Bosnia and Hercegovina.

Changing the Narrative on Atrocity Prevention

If the story about atrocity prevention could be reframed so as to categorize it as a “hard” national security objective, it might be possible to help move the issue of atrocity…
Internally Displaced People, fleeing from violence in the Metekel zone in Western Ethiopia, walk on a route as others stand below in a camp in Chagni, Ethiopia, on January 28, 2021.

Ethiopia, Take a Lesson from Sudan and Stop the War in Tigray

Ethiopia need only look to Sudan to realize what’s at stake for the country and its people and to understand the consequences of history repeating itself.
International Red Cross and Red Crescent workers keep watch at an airport in the southern city of Aden, the interim seat of the Yemeni government, on October 16, 2020, as the war-torn country began swapping 1,000 prisoners in a complex operation overseen by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Fixing “Material Support” — Lessons from the Houthi Terror Designation

Reversing the Trump administration's disastrous designation was a good first step - but the US must address fundamental flaws in the material support statutes to ensure continued…
Michael Fisher Sr. lifts his son, Michael Fisher Jr., to dunk a basketball near the Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee statue on Monument Avenue on January 15, 2021 in Richmond, Virginia. Art work, graffiti and memorials cover the racist statue and take a stand against racial injustice.

Turtle Island Project: Prose Meets Policy for Stronger U.S. National Security

For too long, America has told only a narrow slice of its national story through its public monuments, memorials, and museums. Adom Cooper argues it's time to tell a bigger story.…
Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapakse and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse, neither who wear face masks, are surrounded by others, many who wear face masks, as they leave the new cabinet swearing-in ceremony at the Buddhist Temple of the Tooth in the ancient hill capital of Kandy, some 116 km from Colombo on August 12, 2020.

When War Criminals Run the Government: Not Too Late for the International Community to Vet Sri Lankan Officials

Developing such a list of individuals would signal to survivors some measure of recognition of the atrocities they have suffered.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jim Bolger and Queen Elizabeth II, wearing a traditional Maori cloak of Kiwi feathers chat with Maori Queen Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu after the signing of the Tainui Settlement Bill at Government House in Wellington 03 November.

It’s Never Too Late to Say “I’m Sorry”: Sovereign Apologies Over the Years

What does it mean for a State to apologize for its harmful policies, violations, or mistakes? What distinguishes a genuine apology from a hollow one? An analysis and catalogue…
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