Geneva Conventions

An overhead view of the Pentagon building in Washington, DC.

Clear Error in the Defense Department’s Law of War Manual: On Presumptions of Civilian Status

This article is the first in a new project at Just Security that assesses the U.S. Department of Defense’s Law of War Manual with a goal of providing constructive opportunities…

Feb. 9, 2022 Ryan Goodman

A Yemeni man looks at graffiti protesting against US drone strikes on September 19, 2018 in Sana'a, Yemen.

Embedding Gender in International Humanitarian Law: Is Artificial Intelligence Up to the Task?

The laws of war can sanction uses of force with gendered consequences. Encoding IHL principles into AI systems may reinforce - or correct for - these disparate impacts.

Aug. 27, 2021 Andrea Farrés Jiménez

Tear gas fired by the police covers a street at Tsuen Wan in Hong Kong on August 25, 2019 during a demonstration for democratic rights. A traffic cone and bricks lie in the street.

Clearing the Fog of War Surrounding Battlefield Use of Tear Gas

The United States takes the (minority) view that international law does not prohibit the defensive use of tear gas in war - and that this could protect civilians - but the risks…

May 25, 2021 Matt Montazzoli

A displaced Syrian girl looks around at the camp created by Turkey's Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) in Kafr Lusin village on the border with Turkey in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib on March 10, 2020. Tents and laundry hang behind her.

Renouncing Reprisals: An Opportunity for the Biden Administration

The United States claims the legal right to attack civilians and objects indispensable to their survival in certain situations. Biden can reverse that, and an opportunity to do…

Apr. 1, 2021 Adil Ahmad Haque

: An F-16CJ from the 78th Fighter Squadron, at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina flies over the Eglin Land Range as the pilot releases a GBU-31 2,000 pound Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) during a test mission February 25, 2003.

Avoiding Collateral Damage on the Battlefield

What are the rules on avoiding harm to civilians in armed conflict and how are they applied in an operational context? A detailed explainer on the processes, technologies, and…

Feb. 11, 2021 Lt. Col. John Cherry, Sqn. Ldr. Kieran Tinkler and 1 more

A member of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) looks through a door window to a crowded cell where men suspected to be affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) group are jailed in northeast Syria in the city of Hasakeh on October 26, 2019.

COVID-19 and International Law Series: International Humanitarian Law – Treatment of Detainees

Prisoners are among the most vulnerable to COVID-19 – especially in a war zone. What obligations do combatants have to prisoners of war and other detainees during a pandemic?…

Nov. 16, 2020 Oona A. Hathaway, Preston Lim and 1 more

Children collect grain spilt on the field from gunny bags that ruptured upon ground impact following a food drop from a plane at a village in Ayod county, South Sudan, where World Food Programme (WFP) have just carried out a food drop of grain and supplementary aid on February 6, 2020.

A Landmark Report on Starvation as a Method of Warfare

On the 5th of October, the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, established in 2016 with a view to monitoring human rights and facilitating transitional justice in the country,…

Nov. 13, 2020 Tom Dannenbaum

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.

COVID-19 and International Law Series: International Humanitarian Law – Humanitarian Access

As COVID-19 spreads unchecked in war-torn areas around the world, the international humanitarian law principle of humanitarian access has become more urgent than ever. Local health…

Nov. 12, 2020 Oona A. Hathaway, Mark Stevens and 1 more

The damaged interior of the hospital in which the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) medical charity operated is seen on October 13, 2015 following an air strike in the northern city of Kunduz.

COVID-19 and International Law Series: International Humanitarian Law – Conduct of Hostilities

Airstrikes on hospitals. Targeting medical personnel. Cutting off water supplies. Respect for IHL rules is as essential as ever during a pandemic. How do principles of distinction,…

Nov. 10, 2020 Oona A. Hathaway, Mark Stevens and 1 more

Geneva Convention III Commentary: Unpacking the Potential of “Ensure Respect” in Common Article 1

[Just Security is publishing a series on the ICRC’s updated Commentaries to the Third Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War (2020). This GCIII Commentary series is published…

Oct. 30, 2020 Elizabeth Stubbins Bates

Troops at the conclusion of Exercise Steele Crescendo. A Canadian soldier in the foreground of the photo carries spent light anti-tank weapons. The exercise allowed NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group Latvia to practice coordinated defensive firing using live ammunition.

Geneva Convention III Commentary: Implementing POW Convention in Multinational Operations

[Just Security is publishing a series on the ICRC’s updated Commentaries to the Third Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War (2020). This GCIII Commentary series is published…

Oct. 28, 2020 Steven Hill

An image from the Updated Commentary on the Third Geneva Convention of 1949 Treatment of Prisoners of War shows The 'Division Daguet' on February 26th, 1991 In Iraq.

Geneva Convention III Commentary: What Significance for Women’s Rights?

Analysis of the ICRC's updated Commentaries to the Geneva Convention for Prisoners of War (POWs).

Oct. 21, 2020 Catherine O'Rourke