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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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International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan listens to the President of the Special Peace Jurisdiction Eduardo Cifuentes during a press conference in Bogota, October 27, 2021.

Uncertain Future for the ICC’s Investigation into the CIA Torture Program

The ICC Office of the Prosecutor has "deprioritized" investigation of CIA torture in Afghanistan. But Julian Elderfield, a former attorney in the OTP, says the stated reasons for…
Nov. 12, 2021

Reexamining the Fundamentals of the Drone Program After the Kabul Strike

"There are certainly unique circumstances to the Kabul strike, but if we miss the bigger lessons, we only invite further tragedy. "
Nov. 10, 2021
Afghan refugee women embrace at the old Vathy camp, as one is waiting to be transferred to the new Samos RIC, the first of five new 'closed' migrant camps, on the island of Samos, Greece, on September 20, 2021.

Living in Limbo: The Impact of Greece’s Safe Third Country Policy on Afghan Asylum Seekers

Designating Turkey as a safe third country is Greece's latest attempt to shift its obligations under international and European law.
Nov. 10, 2021
Partially burnt footwear are pictured amid the debris of the house of Ezmarai Ahmadi that was damaged in a US drone strike in the Kwaja Burga neighbourhood of Kabul on September 18, 2021.

Hidden Negligence: Aug. 29 Drone Strike is Just the Tip of the Iceberg

A deep analysis of the broader system in which the August 29 Kabul drone strike is situated, by top expert on civilian casualties and lead author of several Department of Defense…
Nov. 9, 2021
A letter dated October 29, 2021. It reads, “From: Panel ICO U.S. vs. Khan; To: Convening Authority; The panel members listed below recommend clemency in the case of Majid Shoukat Khan. Mr. Kahn committed serious crimes against the U.S. and partner nations. He has plead guilty to these crimes and taken responsibility for his actions. Further, he has expressed remorse for the impact of the victims and their families. Clemency is recommended with the following justification: 1) Mr. Khan has been held without the basic due process under the U.S. Constitution. Specifically, he was held without charge or legal representation for nine years until 2021, and held without final sentencing until October 2021. Although designated on ‘alien unprivileged enemy belligerent,’ and not technically afforded the rights of U.S. citizens, the complete disregard for the foundational concepts upon which the Constitution was founded is an affront to American values and concept of Justice. 2) Mr. Khan was subjected to physical and psychological abuse well beyond approved enhanced interrogation techniques, instead being closer to torture performed by the most abusive regimes in modern history. This abuse was of no practical value in terms of intelligence, or any other tangible benefit to U.S. interests. Instead, it is a stain on the moral fiber of America; the treatment of Mr. Khan in the hands of U.S. personnel should be a source of shame for the U.S. government. 3) Mr. Khan committed his crimes as a young man reeling from the loss of his mother. A vulnerable target for extremist recruiting, he fell to influences furthering Islamic radical philosophies, just as many others have in recent years. Now at the age of 41 with a daughter he has never seen, he is remorseful and not a threat for future extremism. It is the view of the penal members below that clemency be granted based on the points above, as well as Mr. Khan’s continued cooperation with us efforts in other, more critical, prosecutions. Panel #1, Panel #8, Panel #5, Panel #9, Panel #12, Panel #4, Panel #11.”

Military Officers’ Handwritten Clemency Letter at Guantanamo – What It Says About Who We Are

"A long step toward the ultimate freedom: the realization that there is no them, there is only us."
Nov. 8, 2021
Air Force Inspector General Lt. Gen. Sami D. Said speaks during a press briefing at the Pentagon, Washington D.C., November 3, 2021. An American flag stands beside him.

The Missing Kabul Drone Strike Report

"It is simply not credible that the entire investigative report must be withheld in order to protect (as one imagines the claim) sources and methods of intelligence-gathering."
Nov. 5, 2021
An Investigator holds a piece of evidence as he and others search for evidence inside the wreckage of a Police bus at the site of a bomb blast in Kabul, 17 June 2007.

What the Afghanistan Withdrawal Teaches Us About Safeguarding Human Rights Evidence

As the Taliban seized control, evidence of human rights abuses had to be destroyed, hidden, or risk capture. It didn't have to be this way.
Nov. 5, 2021
U.S. President George W. Bush meets with former and current Secretaries of State and Defense in the Roosevelt Room of the White House May 12, 2006 in Washington, DC. Clockwise from bottom left are former Secretary of State Warren Christopher, former Secretary of State James Baker, Former Secretary of State Alexander Haig, former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, former Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird, former Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger, former Secretary of Defense Frank Carlucci, former Secretary of Defense William Cohen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Peter Pace, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Vice President Dick Cheney, President Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

A Soldier and His Establishment: In the Life of Colin Powell, Who Failed Whom?

The question to ask is not what he should have done differently, but what, if anything, his life suggests we should do differently.
Nov. 5, 2021
A sign for Camp Justice in Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. Five flags waive from posts.

A Torture Survivor Speaks at the Guantanamo Military Commissions

Majid Khan described his torture by the United States for the first time in a case that also shows how plea agreements are the only realistic path for those charged in Guantanamo…
Nov. 4, 2021
Internally displaced people (IDP's) from various woredas throughout North Gonder wait to retrieve Food Aid being distributed by the Amhara Emergency Fund at the Millennium School on October 10, 2021 in Debark, Ethiopia.

The Tigray Conflict at One Year: Ethiopia’s Descent into Famine and Civil War

Without deeper international engagement to pause the fighting and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid, the worst is yet to come.
Nov. 4, 2021 and
Young boys, children soldiers sit on February 10, 2015 lay down their arms at a ceremony of the child soldiers disarmament, demobilization and reintegration in Pibor overseen by UNICEF and partners.

Sanctions Review Fails to Review Sanctions: Congress Should Step In

US sanctions policy should account for peacebuilding and other crucial civic and development activities.
Nov. 2, 2021 and
Sudanese anti-coup protesters carry the portrait of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, ousted by the military, during a gathering in the capital Khartoum's twin city of Omdurman on October 30, 2021, to express their support for the country's democratic transition which a military takeover and deadly crackdown derailed.

Sudanese Send Clear `No’ to Military Coup. What Will Security Forces Do Next?

After mass nonviolent protests, look out for arrests of opponents, prison releases of Islamists, and actions by a key paramilitary unit.
Nov. 1, 2021
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