International Humanitarian Law Commons^™

Twenty Seconds To Comply: Autonomous Weapon Systems And The Recognition Of Surrender, Robert Sparrow

International Law Studies

Would it be ethical to deploy autonomous weapon systems (AWS) if they were unable to reliably recognize when enemy forces had surrendered? I suggest that an inability to reliably recognize surrender would not prohibit the ethical deployment of AWS where there was a limited window of opportunity for targets to surrender between the launch of the AWS and its impact. However, the operations of AWS with a high degree of autonomy and/or long periods of time between release and impact are likely to remain controversial until they have the capacity to reliably recognize surrender.

Protecting Cultural Property In Non-International Armed Conflicts: Syria And Iraq, Louise Arimatsu, Mohbuba Choudhury

International Law Studies

The deliberate destruction by ISIS of religious and cultural property in both Syria and Iraq sparked widespread international condemnation and was described by UNESCO’s Director-General as constituting war crimes. Regrettably, the damage to and destruction of such property has become an all too common feature of the conflicts that have engulfed both States. The authors examine the legal obligations that apply to the parties in non-international armed conflict and the consequences of non-compliance. In light of the scale of the human suffering engendered by the conflicts, the authors first ask why international law protects such property in armed conflict.

International Legal Protection For Climate Refugees: Where Lies The Haven For The Maldivian People?, Simran Dolla

Student Works

Climate change and sea level rise are not just mere words for the Maldivian people; they are a grim reality that is consuming their nation. Sea level rise presents one of the gravest dangers for the Maldives because of its already low-lying characteristics. As the levels continue to rise, the nation is sinking into extinction. Some 300,000 people of the Maldives are on the brink of losing their homes and becoming climate change refugees. The existing international laws are not only ill-equipped to provide protections or the much-needed relief, they also make no mention of climate change refugees. Therefore, as …

Human Trafficking: Statute Comparisons And Attitudes In Nebraska, Katie Sheets

Annual Interdisciplinary Conference on Human Trafficking: 7th (2015)

Human trafficking has become an issue for global concern. Here in the United States, the Federal government and all fifty states are taking steps to combat the pervasive problem. This study looks at the anti-human trafficking statutes of all fifty states and compares them with each other to see how each state stacks up against the other. Nebraska was the focus of the study as the unicameral has recently been enacting changes to the state’s laws against human trafficking. Nebraska was expected to at least be with the majority of states with their human trafficking provisions. The study then looked …

Review Of “Interventions: A Life In War And Peace”, By Kofi A. Annan, Njunga Michael Mulikita

Southern African Journal of Policy and Development

This book offers a highly informative account of the life story of the seventh UN Secretary-General, Kofi Atta Annan, the first Sub-Saharan African UN Chief to emerge from within the vast bureaucracy of the United Nations. It is a riveting account narrated by the consummate UN diplomat who served in all the Organisation’s major duty stations ranging from Geneva, Switzerland, through Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to a peacekeeping mission in the hot and dusty Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, and ultimately the 38th Floor of the UN Headquarters, New York.

Human Rights At The Border: European-Union—Moroccan Relations In The Wake Of The 2013 Migratory Policy, Anashua Dutta

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Morocco’s border with the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla has brought the country into direct relations with the European Union (EU) on the issues of border control and migration. In response to the growing human rights violations towards migrants and refugees enumerated in the Conseil Nationale des Droits de l’Homme’s (CNDH) 2013 report, King Muhammad VI passed a migratory policy that emphasized preservation of human rights within Morocco’s borders. This study examines the effects of Morocco’s relationship with the EU on the implementation of the human-rights aspects of Morocco’s 2013 migratory policy. Using the semi-structured interview approach, I will …

Regulation-Tolerant Weapons, Regulation-Resistant Weapons And The Law Of War, Sean Watts

International Law Studies

The historical record of international weapons law reveals both regulation-tolerant weapons and regulation-resistant weapons, identifiable by a number of criteria, including effectiveness, novelty, deployment, medical compatibility, disruptiveness and notoriety. This article identifies these criteria both to explain and inform existing weapons law, and also to facilitate efforts to identify weapons and emerging technology that may prove susceptible to future law of war regulation. By charting both the history and methodology of weapons law with a view toward identifying forces and influences that have made some weapons susceptible to international regulation and made others resistant, this article offers a starting point …

Emerging Technologies And Loac Signaling, Eric Talbot Jensen

International Law Studies

As States seek to weaponize new technologies such as robotics, cyber tools and nanotechnology, the current law of armed conflict (LOAC) that guides the employment of existing weapons will signal rules and principles that should guide national decisions on what new technologies to weaponize and how to do so in a way that ensures compliance with battlefield regulation. LOAC has served this "signaling" function historically with respect to innovative weapon systems such as balloons, submarines, airplanes, and nuclear weapons, and will continue to do so as nations look forward to potentially weaponizing emerging technologies.

Protecting Ecosystems, Culture, And Human Rights In Chile Through Indigenous And Community-Conserved Territories And Areas, William G. Crowley

Capstone Collection

In environmental conservation circles around the world, the contributions of indigenous peoples and local communities to the sustainable maintenance of ecosystems and natural resources are being given increased attention. Whether for cultural, spiritual, economic, or other purposes, the use of traditional and local knowledge of habitat and resource management is slowly making its way into the modern environmental movement, and is being incorporated into the dominant conservation paradigms. These managed areas, known as Indigenous and Community-Conserved Territories and Areas, or ICCAs, are defined by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as “natural and/or modified ecosystems containing significant biodiversity …

Protecting Ecosystems, Culture, And Human Rights In Chile Through Indigenous And Community-Conserved Territories And Areas, William G. Crowley

Capstone Collection

In environmental conservation circles around the world, the contributions of indigenous peoples and local communities to the sustainable maintenance of ecosystems and natural resources are being given increased attention. Whether for cultural, spiritual, economic, or other purposes, the use of traditional and local knowledge of habitat and resource management is slowly making its way into the modern environmental movement. These managed areas, known as Indigenous and Community-Conserved Territories and Areas, or ICCAs, are defined by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as “natural and/or modified ecosystems containing significant biodiversity values, ecological services and cultural values, voluntarily conserved by …

Disguising A Military Object As A Civilian Object: Prohibited Perfidy Or Permissible Ruse Of War?, Kevin Jon Heller

International Law Studies

A number of scholars have claimed that it is inherently perfidious to kill an enemy soldier by disguising a military object as a civilian object. This essay disagrees, noting that conventional and customary IHL deem at least five military practices that involve making a military object appear to be a civilian object permissible ruses of war, not prohibited acts of perfidy: camouflage, ambush, cover, booby-traps, and landmines. The essay thus argues that attackers are free to disguise a military object as a civilian object as long as the civilian object in question does not receive special protection under international humanitarian …

An Emerging International Norm For Non-Governmental Organizations, Stephanie Cotton-Betteridge

Brigham Young University International Law & Management Review

No abstract provided.

Humanitarian Laws Of Armed Conflict In Sweden: Ogling The Socialist Camp, Jacob W.F. Sundberg

Akron Law Review

The inhabitants of a country with the military-geographical location of Sweden should find it natural, one would think, to consider extensively the political and legal-philosophical message of the world which surrounds the country, most conspicuously to the east and to the south, and, by navies below the horizon, less conspicuously to the north and to the west. Everywhere is the Socialist Camp - a not unlikely adversary in some future conflict. In Sweden, however, there prevails a surprising reluctance to discuss the realities of the Camp. To say the least, such discussion is up-hill work. Looking for the reasons why, …

Nanotechnology And The Future Of The Law Of Weaponry, Hitoshi Nasu

International Law Studies

Novel applications of nanotechnology for military purposes are expected to have a transformative impact on the way in which wars can be fought in the future battlespace, with the potential to drive changes to the law of weaponry. This article considers the potential of military applications of nanotechnology to bring changes to the existing principles and rules of weapons law. It specifically focuses on the likelihood that more sophisticated, miniaturized and tailored weapons and weapon systems will be produced that enable mechanical precision of targeting with no or few civilian casualties.

Emerging Technology And Perfidy In Armed Conflict, Ian Henderson, Jordan Den Dulk, Angeline Lewis

International Law Studies

The rule against perfidy in armed conflict—one of the last echoes of honor and social order of war—is threatened by emerging technologies. Specifically, the employment of emerging technologies has muddied the already thin and grey line between acts which contravene the honor of warfare and legitimate ruses of war. In this article, the authors analyze perfidy, treachery and ruses of war as key concepts of international humanitarian law and consider their application to emerging technologies.

The African Charter On Human And Peoples' Rights: Some Preliminary Thoughts, Daniel C. Turack

Akron Law Review

Generally there is a plethora of literature on human rights. Recently published research guides' are most helpful in assisting the researcher and scholar who wants to be informed about this vital area of international law. However, with regard to research into human rights in Africa, there are some special problems to be encountered and a dearth of primary source materials in libraries.

In reference to Africa, this focus is on the sub-Saharan states of the continent excluding the Republic of South Africa and Namibia. Before looking at the Charter, it is important to look at how the African states have …

Sweden And Humanitarian Law, Atle Grahl-Madsen

Akron Law Review

Professor Jacob W.F. Sundberg's article on "Humanitarian Laws of Armed Conflict in Sweden: Ogling the Socialist Camp"' has neither head nor tail. When coming to the author's "conclusions" the reader is likely to be dumbfounded: he may not have realized that this was what the article was all about. Up to that point he has been introduced to a variety of matters, presented in a hodge-podge manner. The article is failing on its own "merits."

However, the article is full of innuendo, half-truths and untruths. If published at home, no one knowing the author and his ideas would have paid …

A Good Treaty, Thomas E. Mcmahon

Akron Law Review

Time and space do not permit me to comment on the many worthy provisions within Protocol 1, so I have chosen two articles in the Protocol which strike me as important in the light of my experience: 1) Article 26 - Medical Aircraft in Contact or Similar Zones, and 1I) Article 77 - Protection of Children.

Additional Protocol I: A Military View, Burrus M. Carnahan Usaf

Akron Law Review

This paper is intended to analyze Additional Protocol I from a military perspective. More specifically, it presents the views of a United States military officer (albeit an officer who is also a lawyer) on the Protocol.

To begin with, the Protocol, if ratified by the United States, would be taken seriously by our armed forces. It is United States policy to comply with the law of war in the conduct of military operations, and this body of law is regularly applied in American military courts. During the war in Southeast Asia, for example, 36 members of the U.S. Army were …

Pros And Cons Of The 1977 Protocol I, Howard S. Levie

Akron Law Review

There are many provisions of value to be found in the 1977 Protocol Additional to the 1949 Geneva Conventions (Protocol ). Unfortunately, there are also a number of provisions which would have been better left undrafted. This discussion will be limited to several provisions, or groups of provisions, which appear to be major advances in the humanitarian law of war - and several provisions, or groups of provisions, which appear to be retrogressive. Obviously, neither list will be all-inclusive; to make them so would require a listing and discussion of practically every substantive article in the Protocol. In fact, inasmuch …

A Brief Analysis Of The 1977 Geneva Protocols, Hans-Peter Gasser

Akron Law Review

In analyzing the two 1977 Protocols additional to the Geneva Conventions for the protection of war victims one should never forget that they are not the product of a sudden inspiration. The first cornerstone for Protocol 1, on international armed conflicts, was laid in the early Fifties. The Draft Rules for the Limitation of the Dangers incurred by the Civilian Population in Time of War, drawn up by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and submitted to the Nineteenth International Red Cross Conference (New Delhi, 1957), were an unsuccessful attempt to improve the protection of the civilian population …

Symposium On The 1977 Geneva Protocols, Hamilton Desaussure

Akron Law Review

There is general agreement that the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907, while still technically in force, have been made largely obsolete by technological advance in weapons systems, communications, air power, and the ballistic missile. Yet the fundamental axiom that acts of war should not cause unnecessary or disproportionate suffering with regard to the military advantage to be gained, remains unchanged from those early conventions. What is new in the Protocols of 1977 is the added emphasis placed on the protection of the civilian population, not only in occupied areas held by the enemy, but also for the protection of …

Is The International Court Of Justice Worth The Effort?, Joseph L. Daly

Akron Law Review

Throughout history most peacemaking has been a response to a particular crisis - efforts of two countries to solve a dispute by treaty or to negotiate the end of a war. But as the instruments of war have become more and more horrible, as wars have come to take an ever increasing toll on civilian populations, world leaders have tried to establish a structure for peace, a permanent way of avoiding conflict by appealing to reason, not to weapons. Our century has hoped that some sort of international tribunal - a world court - would decide disputes on enduring principles …

The Law Of Naval Warfare And China’S Maritime Militia, James Kraska, Michael Monti

International Law Studies

China operates a vast network of fishing vessels that form a maritime militia equipped and trained to conduct intelligence, communications, and targeting support for the People's Liberation Army Navy. Fishing vessels normally are exempt from capture or attack in the law of naval warfare unless they are integrated into the naval forces, but distinguishing between legitimate fishing vessels and maritime militia during naval warfare is virtually impossible.

Judicial Enforcement Of International Human Rights, Edward D. Re

Akron Law Review

Lawyers are thinkers who must determine what are the fundamental human rights that must be legally enforced by a society worthy of being called civilized. Lawyers, therefore, devote their energies not only to human rights, but also to legal remedies designed to give effect to fundamental rights. Hence, for lawyers, the legal question presented deals with convening the ideals into legally enforceable norms. To phrase the inquiry in simple terms: what needs to be done to give legal effect to those moral norms which embody human rights and fundamental freedoms? What are the institutions of government that are charged with …

Sale V. Haitian Centers Council, Inc.: Closing The Golden Door, Dennis E. Wasitis

Akron Law Review

The purpose of this note is to carefully examine the Supreme Court's reasoning in Sale v. Haitian Centers Council, Inc. Part II sketches the contours of our recent policies with Haiti, and highlights the relevant refugee law involved. Part III dissects the case itself and presents the facts, procedure, and reasoning of the majority and minority. Finally, Part IV probes the strength of the court's analysis, and assesses the future implications of the decision.

Fleeing Cuba: A Comparative Piece Focused On Toro And The Options Victims Of Domestic Violence Have In Seeking Citizenship In The United States And Canada, Kiersten M. Schramek

Pace International Law Review

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit decided a case on February 4, 2013 that has undoubted international implications. Toro v. Sec’y dealt with the language of the Cuban Refugee Adjustment Act of 1966 (CAA) and the provisions of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).

This article focuses on how and why the court reached its decision. It analyzes the conflict between the “plain language” of the CAA and its statutory construction to rebut the court’s assertion that the VAWA self-petition was irrelevant in this case, and ultimately, offer an alternative analysis to this case.

This article …

The Applicability Of The Humanitarian Intervention 'Exception' To The Middle Eastern Refugee Crisis: Why The International Community Should Intervene Against Isis, Milena Sterio

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

The refugee crises in Iraq and Syria, which has been evolving over the past decade as a result of both ongoing conflict in these countries and the recent surge of Islamic State-led violence, has morphed into a true humanitarian catastrophe. Tens of thousands of refugees have been subjected to violence and have been dispersed and forced to live under dire conditions; such massive population flows have destabilized the entire region and have threatened the stability of neighboring countries. The United States and several other countries have been engaged in a military air strike campaign against the Islamic State, but the …

Memo To Prime Minister Cameron On The Revision Of The U.K. National Action Plan On Business And Human Rights, Kaitlin Y. Cordes, Sam Szoke-Burke

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

In July 2015, CCSI sent a memo to U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron to provide input on the 2015 revision of the U.K. National Action Plan on business and human rights, originally published in 2013. The memo applauded the U.K. Government’s early adoption of a National Action Plan consistent with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, noting that responsible and rights-respecting outward investment can support sustainable development in host countries, and that the U.K. Government has an important role to play in promoting responsible business operations. The memo urged the government to highlight the importance of land …

Russia’S Annexation Of Crimea: The Mills Of International Law Grind Slowly But They Do Grind, Robin Geiss

International Law Studies

In her speech at the Munich Security Conference in February 2015, Chancellor Angela Merkel unwaveringly said: “Europe’s borders are and will remain unalterable.” At the same time, however, most observers agree that Crimea will remain de facto under Russian control. Against this backdrop the article assesses the contemporary and possible future legal status of Crimea. Particular attention is given to the inseparability of the link between Russia’s unlawful use of force and the purported territorial status alteration of Crimea, the concept of remedial secession and Crimea’s current status as an occupied territory.