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 …