International Humanitarian Law (IHL)
641 Articles
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…
Human Shields and Proportionality: How Legal Experts Defended War Crimes in Sri Lanka
The Sri Lankan Civil War constitutes an unprecedented case in terms of the number of people who were framed as human shields and the mobilization of prominent human rights…
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,…
COVID-19 and International Law Series: Introduction
States’ responses to COVID-19 are governed by international law; likewise, State responses will impact these rules and norms. What are the legal constraints on State action to…
Anticipating the Human Costs of Great Power Conflict
Conspicuously absent from policy and planning documents about great power conflict is a clear-eyed assessment of the likely human costs of such a conflict or considerations for…
Plan to Pull U.S. Troops from Somalia is Cold Comfort Amid Civilian Toll of Air War
AFRICOM insists its aim is to ‘degrade’ al-Shabaab. But the US military campaign is taking a heavy toll on civilians and civilian infrastructure.
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…
The Necessity of Enforcing Humanitarian Law and Human Rights in the Context of Counterterrorism
International legal norms risk marginalization in the rush to embrace ill-defined counterterrorism standards in multiple settings.
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…
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).
Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict: Shortage of Specifics Complicates Search for Solutions
As scholars debate how international law applies in this conflict, the lack of detail makes it hard to know what is taking place on the ground.
Five Years On: Military Accountability and the Attack on the MSF Trauma Center in Kunduz
On the fifth anniversary of the tragic attack by the U.S. military on the Médicins Sans Frontières (MSF) trauma center in Kunduz, Afghanistan, a former U.S. military legal adviser…