As I write these lines, the United States is fighting for the very soul of its democracy. Under dispute is whether their government can forcibly transfer a lawful resident – in this case a Latino with a tattoo – to a forced labour camp in El Salvador without any due process. For now, the US Supreme Court’s answer seems to be “no”, provided the...
[Ben Saul is the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism] The Israeli human rights NGOs Public Committee Against Torture in Israel and Hamoked recently reported that around 6,800 Palestinians are detained by Israel outside the regular criminal justice process. Approximately 3,436 are held as “unlawful combatants” captured in Gaza – although...
[Mona Rishmawi is an international human rights lawyer and a former senior UN official. She worked in several conflict contexts including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Libya, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Sri Lanka, Sudan, and Syria.] This post is written in the author's personal capacity. Israel has resumed pounding Gaza. Civilian casualties are mounting, and humanitarian assistance once again is weaponized....
[Maya Nirula is a dual-qualified international human rights lawyer with multi-jurisdictional experience consulting and litigating on issues of business and human rights] Recapitulation This is the second of a two-part series, the Role of Business in War. Part I: The Old Offense evaluated the interaction between International Humanitarian Law (IHL), International Human Rights Law (IHRL), and International Criminal law (ICL) in governing gross...
[Maya Nirula is a dual-qualified international human rights lawyer with multi-jurisdictional experience consulting and litigating on issues of business and human rights] Introduction This is the first of a two-part series, the Role of Business in War. Part I: The Old Offense will evaluate the interaction between International Humanitarian Law (IHL), International Human Rights Law (IHRL), and International Criminal law (ICL) in governing...
[Dr Erica Harper is Head of Research and Policy Studies at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights] International humanitarian law (IHL) stands at a crossroads. Once a universal touchstone for safeguarding basic human dignity during conflict, its foundational norms are eroding at an alarming pace. The IHL in Focus: Annual Report (June 2023-July 2024) (‘the Report’) paints...
[Captain Peter S. Konchak is a Judge Advocate in the United States Army who is currently assigned to the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate for III Armored Corps and Fort Cavazos, and whose academic work is focused on matters of national security law and policy] The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent...
[Captain Peter S. Konchak is a Judge Advocate in the United States Army who is currently assigned to the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate for III Armored Corps and Fort Cavazos, and whose academic work is focused on matters of national security law and policy] The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent...
[Steven van de Put is a legal advisor at the Royal Netherlands Air Force] This post is written in the author's personal capacity. Historically, accountability for violations of international humanitarian law (IHL), has mainly been a matter of individual criminal processes. Such a notion was already visible in the statements made during the Nuremberg trials, where it was held that crimes against international...
[Marijn Hoijtink is an Associate Professor of International Relations at the Department of Political Science at the University of Antwerp. She leads the PLATFORM WARS project, which focuses on military applications of AI, how these shape new military practices, and the broader political-economic frameworks in which these take place. Dr Jasper van der Kist is a researcher at the University of...
[Nurul M. Azmi is a Legal Researcher and Ciara Laverty is a Legal Adviser with UpRights, an NGO which builds partnerships with victims, civil society, and judicial authorities to document human rights violations and international crimes, and identify and pursue effective legal pathways to accountability, including in the contexts of Ukraine and North Korea] Recent reporting has confirmed the deployment of...
[Dr Eitan Diamond serves as Manager and Senior Legal Expert at the Diakonia IHL Centre in Jerusalem. Dr Ellen Nohle serves as a Senior Legal Advisor and Legal Team Coordinator at the Diakonia IHL Centre in Jerusalem. Anna-Christina Schmidl serves as a Legal Advisor at the Diakonia IHL Centre in Jerusalem.] Introduction Between 7 October 2023, when hostilities broke out in Israel and Gaza,...