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.
3,512 Articles

Grading DOD’s Annual Civilian Casualties Report: “Incomplete”
The new information demonstrates how much progress the department has made and yet how much of a paradigm shift is still needed for full accountability.

Iranian Gunboat Harassment and the Rules of Engagement
What to make of Trump's order to “shoot down and destroy” lranian boats that harass US vessels. International law and Standing Rules of Engagement place significant limits.

Accountability in the Time of COVID-19: Syria & Iraq
The coronavirus crisis has dominated the global news coverage, but the war in Syria has not gone away. The ceasefire brokered by Turkey and Russia in March 2020 remains fragile,…

Let’s Make a Deal: How to Mitigate the Risk of Hypersonic Weapons
Despite the destructive capability of hypersonic weapons, international arms control law currently does little to regulate their development, testing, or production.

Coronavirus Adds Urgency to Ending Egypt’s Detention and Torture of Children
The United States has long justified its support for Egyptian security services as necessary for the security and stability of Egypt and the region. Yet the means by which the…

National Security at the United Nations This Week (April 25-May 1)
(Editor’s Note: This is the latest in Just Security’s weekly series keeping readers up to date on developments at the United Nations at the intersection of national security,…

Trump’s “Deal of the Century” is Bibi’s Dream Come True
Ambassador Peter Mulrean (ret.) writes about the state of play inside Israel and the window PM Netanyahu has for annexing the West Bank and burying the Oslo Accords.

How to Hold Venezuela’s Maduro Accountable for Human Rights Abuses
The Trump administration's focus on the regime’s corruption, manipulation of the election process, and narco-terrorism omits other egregious violations.

National Security at the United Nations This Week (April 18-24)
The latest in Just Security’s weekly series keeping readers up to date on developments at the United Nations at the intersection of national security, human rights, and the rule…

First Yazidi Genocide Trial Commences in Germany
On April 24, 2020, six years after the Islamic State (IS) began persecuting and exterminating the Yazidi, the first ever trial addressing genocide against the religious minority…

Russia’s Humanitarian Law Obligations to Civilians in Occupied Ukrainian Territories in the Time of COVID-19
An examination of the Russian Federation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Crimea and eastern Ukraine exposes a range of deficits that likely entail breaches of various…

Great Expectations: AFRICOM’s New Quarterly Report on Civilian Casualties
A look at circumstances under which civilian casualties may occur in Somalia, why the US military may be under-reporting the numbers, and what to do about it.