Last Sunday, French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian described the taking of hostages at the Algerian gas plant two weeks ago as an “act of war”. He elaborated: “What strikes me the most is that we’re saying ‘hostage-taking’ but when there are so many people concerned, I think this is an act of war.” The …
The first part of this two part piece will consider the Algerian military action against the Amenas gas plant which took place two weeks ago against the standards set out in human rights law. In doing so, it considers whether the Algerian government’s decision to storm the gas plant with such a heavy military force might …
Mali is a party to the 1977 Additional Protocol relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts (Additional Protocol II). Katharine already considered a while back that the conflict(s) between the government and the rebels appear(s) to be covered by Additional Protocol II as the criteria laid down in Article 1 of Additional …
The French intervention in Mali and Additional Protocol II Read More »
On Tuesday, there were reports of a ‘leaked report’ from the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court containing the OTP’s conclusions on the Nigeria situation. The report in question turned out to be the the OTP’s ‘Report on Preliminary Examination Activities 2012‘ – a public document which is annually published by the OTP. The report provides an insight …
It is my great pleasure to introduce Dan Saxon as guest blogger on the site. Dan Saxon is currently a Visiting Professor at the Faculty of Law in the University of Utrecht, where he teaches international criminal law. Dan served as a prosecutor for 12 years at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the Former …
Guest post by Dan Saxon: “Covering Syria: Ethical and Legal Obligations of Journalists” Read More »
Last week, the UN special representative to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, attempted to broker a ceasefire for – at least – the duration of the Eid Al-Adha holiday. Although both sides, the Syrian government and the opposition, reportedly agreed to a cease-fire, the fighting did not stop and there were daily reports of attacks from both sides (see, …
Ceasefires and the end of the application of IHL in non-international armed conflicts Read More »
An interesting case is being heard in the English courts this week. The claimant is Noor Khan, a Pakistani man whose father was killed by a drone attack in North Waziristan in March 2011. The lawyers for Mr Khan are arguing that the passing of information by British intelligence agency GCHQ to the Americans running the drone operation, …
Legal challenge to UK support to US drone programme Read More »
Syria and the geographical scope of international humanitarian law: steps towards a localised approach? Between May and July 2012, there were a number of statements from individuals within the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) which seemed to suggest that there was a non-international …
Last Thursday, Mullah Muhammad Omar, the reclusive Afghan Taliban leader, issued a 7-page statement to the Afghan people. Published ahead of the Eid al-Fitr festival, the statement urged Taliban insurgents to avoid civilian losses. Mullah Omar’s statement is the latest in a long succession of ‘instructions’ to Taliban fighters to avoid civilian casualties. In 2006, 2009 and 2010, the Taliban leadership …
Mullah Omar urges the Taliban to avoid civilian deaths: a cause to celebrate? Read More »
I am very pleased to introduce Diana Contreras-Garduño from Utrecht University’s Netherlands Institute of Human Rights as the first ‘guest blogger’ on the Armed Groups and International Law blog. Diana is a colleague of mine at Utrecht University’s Netherlands Institute of Human Rights and is conducting PhD research on the victims’ right to benefit from remedies and reparations …