scholarly journals A criminal tribunal and a wide-ranging reparation programme is necessary for the victims of sexual violence and torture in Iraq

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 110-124
Author(s):  
Bojan Gavrilovic ◽  
Stephanie Schweininger
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Violence ◽  
International Law ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
Sexual Slavery ◽  
Primary Object ◽  
International Discourse ◽  
Forced Prostitution ◽  
Legal Frameworks

The frequency and extreme nature of sexual violence committed in Iraq, primarily by the self-declared Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) from 2014 onwards, has shocked the international community. Now, four years later, victory over ISIL has been proclaimed but addressing past atrocities and their consequences has barely begun. There is a wide discrepancy between Iraq’s human rights obligations, stressed by the United Nations (UN), and the reality on the ground, shaped by the Iraqi authorities. The present paper aims to highlight this discrepancy by providing an overview of the crimes committed, their qualification under international law, and the efforts of Iraqi authorities to punish those responsible. It will also discuss legal frameworks and the role of the UN, before positing some possible solutions. Object of the inquiry. The primary object of this inquiry is the conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) that has taken place in Iraq since 2014. The term CRSV is used in the international discourse to designate sexual violence occurring during or following armed conflict. UN bodies have set a gravity threshold for defining CRSV—incidents or patterns of acts of sexual violence such as “rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization, or any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity” (UN Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict, 2011, p. 3)

Repertoires of conflict-related sexual violence: Introducing the RSVAC data package

2021 ◽  
pp. 002234332110446
Author(s):  
Logan Dumaine ◽  
Ragnhild Nordås ◽  
Maria Gargiulo ◽  
Elisabeth Jean Wood
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Abuse ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Forced Marriage ◽  
Sexual Slavery ◽  
Forced Sterilization ◽  
Sexual Torture ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Forced Prostitution ◽  
Global Patterns

Scholars increasingly call for documentation and analysis of specific forms of conflict-related sexual violence. Moreover, accountability for crimes is stronger when specific patterns of victimization are documented. This article introduces the Repertoires of Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict (RSVAC) data package, which assembles reports from 1989 to 2015 of forms of sexual violence by government/states forces, insurgent/rebel organizations, and pro-government militias for each conflict and year. RSVAC compiles the reported prevalence of eight forms of sexual violence – rape, sexual slavery and forced marriage, forced prostitution, sexual mutilation, forced pregnancy, forced sterilization and abortion, non-penetrative sexual torture, and sexual abuse (as well as that of multiple-perpetrator reports of each form). It includes extensive qualitative notes on reported incidents, as well as ‘conflict manuscripts’ that include the relevant portions of source documents. Disaggregating ‘sexual violence’ into its distinct forms enables analysis of the reported presence of forms of sexual violence across time, conflicts, and organizations. We illustrate its usefulness by highlighting hitherto neglected global patterns it suggests, and also discuss limitations, potential biases and underreporting that users need to take into account. We outline several research questions that the data can help answer and suggest how the data package could inform policy efforts to address sexual violence and its consequences.

Features of ILM for the 1960's

1969 ◽  
Vol 8 (I1) ◽  
pp. xi-xii
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Military Force ◽  
International Arbitration ◽  
National Courts ◽  
The Developed Countries

The contents of ILM for the period from 1962 to 1969 reflect several significant developments: (1) the entry on the international scene of many new countries and their establishment of relations with the developed countries, particularly in the fields of commerce and trade and of investment; (2) the prevalence of armed conflict and the use of military force in the unsettled conditions resulting from the decolonization process and from continued antagonisms between the superpowers; (3) the pervasive role of international organizations, both global and regional, general and specialized; and (4) the continued predominance of national courts in the judicial consideration of questions of international law and the shift from general to specialized tribunals in the resolution of disputes by international arbitration and adjudication.

scholarly journals Roles of the Courts in New Zealand in Giving Effect to International Human Rights - with Some History

1999 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth J Keith
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Common Law ◽  
General Effect ◽  
International Affairs ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Right ◽  
Domestic Law

The Right Honourable Sir Kenneth Keith was the fourth speaker at the NZ Institute of International Affairs Seminar. In this article he describes and reflects upon the role of courts and judges in relation to the advancement of human rights, an issue covered in K J Keith (ed) Essays on Human Rights (Sweet and Maxwell, Wellington, 1968). The article is divided into two parts. The first part discusses international lawmakers attempting to protect individual groups of people from 1648 to 1948, including religious minorities and foreign traders, slaves, aboriginal natives, victims of armed conflict, and workers. The second part discusses how from 1945 to 1948, there was a shift in international law to universal protection. The author notes that while treaties are not part of domestic law, they may have a constitutional role, be relevant in determining the common law, give content to the words of a statute, help interpret legislation which is in line with a treaty, help interpret legislation which is designed to give general effect to a treaty (but which is silent on the particular matter), and help interpret and affect the operation of legislation to which the international text has no apparent direct relation. 

Legal Protection of Children in Non-International Armed Conflicts in Nigeria

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-27
Author(s):  
Olaitan Oluwaseyi Olusegun
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Legal Protection ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Conflict Situations ◽  
Legal Frameworks ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Domestic Law

Abstract Armed conflicts are characterised by violence and human rights violations with various implications on the citizens, economy and development of nations. The impact is however more pronounced with life-long consequences on children, the most vulnerable members of the society. This article examines the impact of non-international armed conflicts on children in Nigeria and identifies the laws for the protection of children against armed conflicts, both in international law and Nigeria’s domestic law. It also addresses the challenges involved in the protection of children in armed conflict situations in Nigeria. The study found that legal efforts to protect children have not been given sufficient attention in Nigeria. This is mostly due to various challenges including the fragmentation of legal framework and the refusal to domesticate relevant treaties. It is thus recommended that these challenges be addressed through the implementation of effective legal frameworks.

Water Security and Armed Conflict

2020 ◽  
pp. 125-144
Author(s):  
Rhett B. Larson
Keyword(s):  
Water Stress ◽  
International Law ◽  
River Water ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Food Prices ◽  
History Of ◽  
Ancient Civilizations ◽  
Human Conflict

Water has not just been the locus of human cooperation, as seen in our early ancient civilizations arising along the banks of desert rivers. It has also been the geography of our conflicts. Indeed, the role of water in human conflict can be seen even in our languages. For example, the word “rival” comes from the Latin word rivalis, meaning those who share a river. Water has been a strategic target and even a weapon in war. In very rare instances, disputes over water have escalated into violence. Water stress results in instability, rising food prices, and desperation, which are often dry kindling for radicalization. This chapter discusses the history of water and violence, why water is more often a source of cooperation than conflict, and the role international law has, and may, play in continuing the pattern of water as a catalyst for peace.

Introduction: International Law and the Problem of War

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Weller
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
War And Peace ◽  
Community Values ◽  
Resolution Rule ◽  
United Nations System ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Nations System

This chapter examines the role of international law in preventing war and armed conflict. It begins by discussing three approaches to war and peace: the realist approach, the managerial approach, and the utopian visionary approach. It then considers some of the features of the United Nations system that were drawn from the League of Nations experience, including enforcement, dispute resolution, rule of law, prohibition of the use of force, and self-defence. The chapter also analyses how the UN Security Council deals with armed attacks undertaken by non-state actors, such as acts of terrorism. Finally, it outlines new challenges to the law on the use of force, particularly the new potential for armed conflict following the end of the Cold War, the issue of humanitarian intervention, and claims to enforcement of global community values.

The Obama Administration and Targeting “War-Sustaining” Objects in Noninternational Armed Conflict

2016 ◽  
Vol 110 (4) ◽  
pp. 663-679 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Goodman
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Second Order ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
President Obama ◽  
Law Of Armed Conflict ◽  
Economic Infrastructure ◽  
Significant Attention

Since September 11, 2001, legal experts have focused significant attention on the lethal targeting of individuals by both the George W. Bush and Obama administrations. An equally significant legacy of the post-9/11 administrations, however, may be the decisions to target specific kinds of objects. Those decisions greatly affect the success of U.S. efforts to win ongoing conflicts, such as the conflict with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). These decisions may also become precedents for military attacks that states consider lawful, whether carried out by cyber or kinetic means, in future armed conflicts.To achieve the goal of destroying ISIL, President Obama embraced what many in the international law community long regarded as off-limits: targeting war-sustaining capabilities, such as the economic infrastructure used to generate revenue for an enemy's armed forces. Although the weight of scholarly opinion has for years maintained that such objects are not legitimate military targets, the existing literature on this topic is highly deficient. Academic discussion has yet to grapple with some of the strongest and clearest evidence in support of the U.S. view on the legality of such targeting decisions. Indeed, intellectual resources may be better spent not on the question of whether such objects are legitimate military targets under the law of armed conflict, but on second-order questions, such as how to apply proportionality analysis and how to identify limiting principles to guard against unintentional slippery slopes. In this article, I discuss the legal pedigree for war-sustaining targeting. I then turn to identify some of the most significant second-order questions and how we might begin to address them.

Sexual Violence against Men and International Law – Criminalising the Unmentionable

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 665-695 ◽  
Author(s):  
Solange Mouthaan
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Violence ◽  
International Law ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
International Community ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
International Criminal Tribunals ◽  
The World ◽  
Gender Based

This article will discuss the manner in which international law deals with crimes of sexual violence committed against men during armed conflict. To date sexual violence against men has received little attention from the international community; instead its focus is almost exclusively on women, yet in armed conflicts across the world, sexual violence is also perpetrated against men. The example of torture demonstrates the current weaknesses in the relevant provisions for acts of sexual violence generally, and acts of sexual violence committed against men specifically. I argue that international criminal tribunals should address sexual violence more broadly, including against men. However, rather than to adopt a piecemeal approach differentiating between acts of sexual violence suffered by men and women, the experiences of men of sexual violence in armed conflict should be used to contribute to understanding the broader issue of gender-based crimes, of which sexual violence forms part.

scholarly journals Non-State Armed Groups, Detention Authority in Non-International Armed Conflict, and the Coherence of International Law: Searching for a Way Forward

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 435-456 ◽  
Author(s):  
DARAGH MURRAY
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Legal Basis ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
International Regulation ◽  
Current State ◽  
Treaty Interpretation

AbstractInternational humanitarian law establishes explicit safeguards applicable to detention occurring in non-international armed conflict. However, debate exists as to whether these treaty provisions establish an implicit legal basis for detention. This article approaches this debate in light of the application of international humanitarian law to non-state armed groups. It examines the principal arguments against implicit detention authority and then applies the law of treaty interpretation to international humanitarian law's detention-related provisions. On the basis of current understandings of international law – and the prohibition of arbitrary detention in particular – it is concluded that international humanitarian law must be interpreted as establishing implicit detention authority, in order to ensure the continued regulation of armed groups. Although, perhaps, problematic from certain states’ perspective, this conclusion is reflective of the current state of international law. However, this is not necessarily the end of the story. A number of potential ‘ways forward’ are identified: implicit detention authority may be (i) rejected; (ii) accepted; or (iii) re-examined in light of the non-state status of armed groups, and what this means for the content of the prohibition of arbitrary detention. These scenarios are examined in light of the desire to ensure: the coherency of international law including recognition of the role of armed groups, the continued effectiveness of international humanitarian law, and state sovereignty. An emphasis is placed on understanding the non-state status of armed groups and what this means for international regulation and the content of imposed obligations.

Refugees and internally displaced persons — International humanitarian law and the role of the ICRC

1995 ◽  
Vol 35 (305) ◽  
pp. 162-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Philippe Lavoyer
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Internally Displaced Persons ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Displaced Persons ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
Geneva Conventions

The main purpose of this brief study is to show the importance of international humanitarian law, in particular the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977, for internally displaced persons, i.e. persons displaced within their own country, and to refugees, i.e. persons who have fled their country. Not only does this body of international law protect them when they are victims of armed conflict, but its rules — if scrupulously applied — would make it possible to avoid the majority of displacements.

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