International Humanitarian Law (IHL)
641 Articles

COVID-19 and Humanitarian Access in Starvation-Affected Countries: Part 1 – Yemen
The blanket denial of appropriate humanitarian aid distribution and personnel access by parties to the ongoing conflict in Yemen, citing the COVID-19 pandemic, could exacerbate…

Preventing and Responding to Civilian Casualties: An Upcoming Discussion on Law, Policy, and Progress
Civilian casualties are inevitable in armed conflict. Nonetheless, international law requires armed forces to distinguish between civilians and lawful military objectives, and…

NATO Recognizes Space as an “Operational Domain”: One Small Step Toward a Rules-Based International Order in Outer Space
(Editor’s Note: The absence of a comprehensive analysis of the legal framework for military operations in outer space represents a troubling deficiency in the understanding of…

Military Space Operations and International Law
(Editor’s Note: The absence of a comprehensive analysis of the legal framework for military operations in outer space represents a troubling deficiency in the understanding of…

Reduction of Civilian Harm in Afghanistan: A Way Forward
As all sides have jockeyed for leverage in Afghanistan, civilians have paid the price with over 10,000 civilian casualties in 2019.

U.S. Issues Travel Ban on Sri Lankan Military Leader
The U.S. State Department’s announcement of a travel ban on Sri Lankan Lieutenant General Shavendra Silva, current commander of the Sri Lankan Army and acting chief of the Defense…

When Professionalism Mattered: Dissent Against U.S. Policy on Landmines
President Trump's retaliation against principled dissenters and his jettisoning of longstanding U.S. policy on landmines converge in a look back to see how another administration…

Why the US Military Needs to Rethink How It Investigates Civilian Harm
A new report analyzed a total of 228 investigations into reported civilian harm in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria between 2002 and 2015.

American Policy Paralysis in the Middle East Strikes Idlib
While observers of the Middle East focus on the spiraling escalation of US-Iran tensions, a humanitarian crisis with potentially far greater consequences is rapidly unfolding in…

US Should Think Again About Reversing Landmine Policy
The Trump administration announced Friday that the United States will re-start using and producing antipersonnel landmines. The new policy follows the U.S. retreat from multilateralism…

Human Shielding (by Omission) in Iran
Iran violated its legal obligations to take passive precautions to protect civilians under its control, with the intent that those civilians shield military targets from attack.…

Iran’s Leaders Preserve the Republic With a Hybrid of International and Islamic Law
The rhetorical strategy allows them to address the world and Iranians at the same time, while passing on different messages.