In a political climate that holds limited promise for addressing the issue of child recruitment, Child Soldiers and Transitional Justice: Protecting the Rights of Children Involved in Armed Conflicts challenges the trend towards a narrow focus on recruitment and use of the child, and seeks to contribute to more effective prevention and responses that offer the child a chance of recovery, reconciliation and reintegration.This book adapts existing theoretical frameworks of transitional justice in order to analyse child recruitment, with a view to demonstrating how a society can address the issue in a holistic way. It systematises relevant knowledge across a wide range of legal fields to allow for greater understanding of the law and principles, and a more informed basis for practical engagement with transitional justice mechanisms.Delving deep into the travaux prparatoires of each of the fundamental legal instruments, the author analyses their evolution, spanning humanitarian law, human rights law, criminal law, and other aspects of public law, including peace agreements and action plans developed with armed groups and forces. He provides a particular focus on and in-depth analysis of the Lubanga case, and its implications for other components of transitional justice. The findings highlight arguments for placing child recruitment firmly on the transitional justice agenda.By considering child recruitment against a transitional justice framework, the book allows a detailed understanding of the distinct but complementary components rule of law, criminal justice, historical justice, reparatory justice, institutional justice, and participatory justice and reveals the untapped potential in interactions between different areas of transitional justice.

This book investigates how, while children used as soldiers are primarily perceived as victims of offences against international law, they also commit war atrocities. In the aftermath of armed conflict, the mainstream justice system targets warlords internationally, armed groups and militias' commanders who abduct and enrol children as combatants, leaving child perpetrators not being held accountable for their alleged gross human rights violations. Attempts to prosecute child soldiers through the mainstream justice system have resulted in child rights abuses. Where no accountability measures have been taken, demobilised young soldiers have experienced rejection, and eventually, some have returned to soldiering. This research provides evidence of the potential of restorative justice peacemaking circles and locally-based jurisprudence - specifically the Baraza - to hold former child soldiers accountable and facilitate their reintegration into society.

This is the first law book entirely devoted to the subject of truth commissions. It sets forth standards of procedural fairness aimed at protecting the rights of those who come into contact with truth commissions - primarily victims, witnesses, and perpetrators. The aim of the book is to provide recommended criteria of procedural fairness for five possible components of a truth commission's mandate: the taking of statements, the use of subpoenas, the exercise of powers of search and seizure, the holding of victim-centered public hearings, and the publication of findings of individual responsibility in a final report (sometimes called the issue of 'naming names'). The book draws on the experience of past and present truth commissions, analogous investigative or fact finding bodies in several countries, and international standards of procedural fairness established and used by various UN bodies and international NGOs.

At a time when human rights are coming under increasing pressure, in-depth knowledge and understanding of their foundations, conceptual underpinnings and current practice remain crucial. The second edition of Walter Kalin and Joerg Kunzli's authoritative book provides a concise but comprehensive legal analysis of international human rights protection at the global and regional levels. It shows that human rights are real rights creating legal entitlements for those who are protected by them and imposing legal obligations on those bound by them. Based, in particular, on a wide-ranging analysis of international case-law, the book focuses on the sources and scope of application of human rights and a discussion of their substantive guarantees. Further chapters describe the different mechanisms to monitor the implementation of human rights obligations, ranging from the regional human rights courts in Africa, the Americas and Europe and the UN treaty bodies to the international criminal tribunals, the International Court of Justice and the UN Security Council. The book is based on an understanding of human rights as legal concepts that address basic human needs and vulnerabilities, and highlights the indivisibility of civil and political rights on the one and economic, social and cultural rights on the other hand. It also highlights the convergence of international human rights and international humanitarian law and the interlinkages with international criminal law as well as general international law, in particular the law of state responsibility.

This book analyzes emergency legislations formed in response to terrorism. In recognition that different countries, with different legal traditions, have different solutions, it adopts a comparative point of view. The countries profiled include America, France, Israel, Poland, Germany and United Kingdom. The goal is not to offer judgment on one response or the other. Rather, the contributors offer a comprehensive and thoughtful examination of the entire concept. In the process, they draw attention to the inadaptability of traditional legal and philosophical categories in a new and changing political world. The contributors first criticize the idea of these legislations. They then go on to develop different models to respond to these crises. They build a general analytical framework by answering such questions as: What is an emergency legislation? What kinds of emergencies justify laws of this nature? Why is contemporary terrorism such a specific emergency justifying new laws? Using legal and philosophical reflections, this study looks at how we are changing society. Coverage also provides historical experiences of emergency legislations to further illustrate this point. In the end, readers will gain insight into the long-term consequences of these legislations and how they modify the very work of the rule of law.

This book is the product of a multiyear dialogue between leading human rights theorists and high-level representatives of international human rights nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) sponsored by the United Nations University, Tokyo, and the City University of Hong Kong. It is divided into three parts that reflect the major ethical challenges discussed at the workshops: the ethical challenges associated with interaction between relatively rich and powerful Northern-based human rights INGOs and recipients of their aid in the South; whether and how to collaborate with governments that place severe restrictions on the activities of human rights INGOs; and the tension between expanding organization mandate to address more fundamental social and economic problems and restricting it for the sake of focusing on more immediate and clearly identifiable violations of civil and political rights. Each section contains contributions from both theorists and practitioners of human rights.

This book explores the distinction and relationship between two principal branches of international law regulating the use of force: jus ad bellum (international law regulating the resort to force) and jus in bello (international humanitarian law). Two principles traditionally govern the relationship between the two: 1) separation of jus ad bellum and jus in bello and 2) equal application of jus in bello to the conflicting parties. These principles emerged in response to the claim that a conflicting party using force illegally under jus ad bellum should not benefit from the protection for victims of armed conflict under jus in bello, which would completely defeat the humanitarian purpose of jus in bello to protect all victims of armed conflict impartially. There is, however, a third principle: concurrent application of jus ad bellum and jus in bello. Unlike in the past, jus ad bellum now regulates the use of force during a conflict alongside jus in bello and hence, the two are now considered as one set of rules applying during a conflict. The book explores in detail the interaction between jus ad bellum and jus in bello in the light of these three principles. The relationship between the two has been principally discussed in the context of the use of force in self-defence and international armed conflict. However, this book examines the relationship in other contexts of a very different nature, namely the use of force under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, non-international armed conflict, and armed conflict of a mixed character. The book concludes that the three principles governing the relationship are equally valid, with certain variations, in these different contexts.

This volume commemorates the centenary of the First World War (1914-2014) and aims to capture 100 years of warfare evolution. Among the main issues addressed are the changing nature of means and methods of warfare, the law of weaponry, and challenges to humanitarian assistance and protection of the civilian population affected by armed conflict. Specific topics include the legal regime governing nuclear weapons, the prohibition of chemical weapons and arms control, the evolution of naval warfare, asymmetric conflicts, the law of occupation and cultural property. A comprehensive Year in Review also describes the most important events and legal developments that took place in 2014. The Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law is the world's only annual publication devoted to the study of the laws governing armed conflict. It provides a truly international forum for high-quality, peer-reviewed academic articles focusing on this crucial branch of international law. Distinguished by contemporary relevance, the Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law bridges the gap between theory and practice and serves as a useful reference tool for scholars, practitioners, military personnel, civil servants, diplomats, human rights workers and students.

This book discusses the moral and legal issues relating to military drones, focusing on how these machines should be judged according to the principles of just war theory. The author analyses existing drones, like the Predator and Reaper, but also evaluates the many types of drones in development. The book presents drones as not only morally justifiable but having the potential to improve compliance with the principles of just war and international law. Realizing this potential would depend on developing a sound regulatory framework, which the book helps to develop by considering what steps governments and military forces should take to promote ethical drone use. It also critically evaluates the arguments against drones to show which should be abandoned and which raise valid concerns that can inform regulations.

The International Military Tribunal for the Far East, often known as the Tokyo Trial was held by the Allied Nations from 1946-8 to try Japanese military and civil officials for war crimes committed during World War II. The trial proceedings were controversial at the time and remain a highly emotive subject, particularly in East Asia. This collection of essays from leading Chinese historians, presented here in English translation for the first time, represents a distinctively Chinese approach to the interpretation of the trial and its significance today. The essays are supplemented by a detailed chronology and by firsthand accounts of the trial by two men who represented China in the proceedings: the judge Mei Ru'ao and the prosecution consultant Ni Zhengyu.

This book centres on the war that raged between Eritrea and Ethiopia from 1998 to 2000, a war that caused great loss of life and tremendous devastation. It analyses the war in great detail from an international legal perspective: the nature and the state of the boundary conflict preceding the actual armed conflict, the military actions themselves, the role of the UN peace-keeping mission, the responsibility for the multitude of explosive remnants of the war left behind. Ample attention is paid to the decisions of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission and the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission. This study is not limited to the war and the period immediately following it, it also examines its more extended aftermath prolonging the analysis as far as the more recent improvement in the relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia, away from a situation of 'no war, no peace' that prevailed after the armed conflict ended. The analysis of the war and its aftermath is not only in terms of international legal issues, it has been placed in a wider than strictly legal perspective. The book is a valuable work for academics and practitioners in international law, human rights and humanitarian law in particular, for political scientists, diplomats, civil servants, historians, and all those others seriously interested in the Horn of Africa. Andrea de Guttry is Full Professor of Public International Law at the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna in Pisa, Italy. Harry H.G. Post is Adjunct Professor in the Faculte Libre de Droit of the Universite Catholique de Lille in Lille, France. Gabriella Venturini is Professor Emerita in the Dipartimento di Studi internazionali, giuridici e storico-politici of the Universita degli Studi di Milano in Milan, Italy.

With growing awareness of the devastation caused by major natural disasters, alongside integration of governance and technology networks, the parameters of humanitarian aid are becoming more global. At the same time, humanitarian instruments are increasingly recognizing the centrality of local participation. Drawing on six case studies and a survey of sixty-nine members of the relief sector, this book suggests that the key to the efficacy of post-disaster recovery is the primacy given to local actors in the management, direction and design of relief programs. Where local partnership and knowledge generation and application is ongoing, cohesive, meaningful and inclusive, disaster relief efforts are more targeted, cost-effective, efficient and timely. Governing Disasters: Engaging Local Populations in Humanitarian Relief examines the interplay between law, governance and collaborative decision making with international, state, private sector and community actors in order to understand the dynamics of a global decentralized yet coordinated process of post-disaster humanitarian assistance.

This book addresses the technological evolution of modern warfare due to unmanned systems and the growing capacity for cyberwarfare. The increasing involvement of unmanned means and methods of warfare can lead to a total removal of humans from the navigation, command and decision-making processes in the control of unmanned systems, and as such away from participation in hostilities - the "dehumanization of warfare." This raises the question of whether and how today's law is suitable for governing the dehumanization of warfare effectively. Which rules are relevant? Do interpretations of relevant rules need to be reviewed or is further and adapted regulation necessary? Moreover, ethical reasoning and computer science developments also have to be taken into account in identifying problems. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach the book focuses primarily on international humanitarian law, with related ethics and computer science aspects included in the discussion and the analysis.

This book assesses President Barack Obama's counterterrorism policy as it evolved throughout his presidency, from the expanded use of drones to the controversial decisions regarding the Syrian conflict. President Obama has achieved the dubious distinction of having been the longest continuous war president in American history, and this title explores how Obama pursued and expanded executive war power in key areas, simultaneously committing to a light footprint approach for U.S. military forces and emphasizing the use of drones, targeted killing of terrorists, and training, advising, and assisting local forces to defend themselves from militant groups such as ISIL. It also provides an in-depth analysis of the defining issue of the Obama counterterrorism strategy: Syria, and his refusal to militarily commit to defeat Bashar al-Assad and support Syria's insurgency. The work concludes with a consideration of counterterrorism policy post-Obama.

This book seeks to understand how and why we should hold leaders responsible for the collective mass atrocities that are committed in times of conflict. It attempts to untangle the debates on modes of liability in international criminal law (ICL) that have become truly complex over the last twenty years, and to provide a way to identify the most appropriate model for leadership liability. A unique comparative theory of ICL is offered, which clarifies the way in which ICL develops as a patchwork of different domestic criminal law notions. This theory forms the basis for the comparison of some influential domestic criminal law systems, with a view to understanding the policy and cultural reasons for their differences. There is a particular focus on the background of the German law which has influenced the International Criminal Court so much recently. This helps to understand, and seek a solution to, the current impasses in the debates on which model of liability should be applied. An entire chapter of the book is devoted to considering why leaders should be held responsible for crimes committed by their subordinates, from legal, moral and pragmatic perspectives. The moral responsibility of leaders is translated into criminal liability, and the different domestic models of liability are translated to the international context, in such a way as to appeal to advanced students of ICL, academics, and practitioners who want to understand the complexities of leadership liability in international criminal law today and identify the best way to approach it. Cassandra Steer is Executive Director of Women in International Security Canada, and Junior Wainwright Fellow at McGill University, Canada. She holds a Ph.D. in Law from the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

This book reviews the nature of the alleged abuse committed by the UK military forces, exploring the legal paradigm in which the abuse allegedly occurred; the morality of those accused; and the robustness of the accusation of a 'policy of abuse'.

The outsourcing of military and security services is the object of intense legal debate. States employ private military and security companies (PMSCs) to perform functions previously exercised by regular armed forces. International organizations, non-governmental organizations, and business corporations are increasingly doing the same to provide security, particularly in crisis situations. Much of the public attention on PMSCs has been in response to incidents in which PMSC employees have been accused of violating international humanitarian law. Therefore initiatives have been launched to introduce uniform international standards amidst what is currently very uneven national regulation. This book analyzes and discusses the interplay between international, European, and domestic regulatory measures in the field of PMSCs. It presents a comprehensive assessment of the existing domestic legislation in EU Member States and relevant Third States, and it identifies implications for future international regulation. The book also addresses the crucial questions of whether and how the EU can potentially play a more active future role in the regulation of PMSCs to ensure compliance with human rights and international humanitarian law. (Series: Studies in International Law - Vol. 38)

Refugees and migration are not a new story in the history of humankind, but in the last few years, against a backdrop of huge numbers of migrants, especially from war-torn countries, they have again been a topic of intensive and contentious discussion in politics, the media and scientific publications. Two United Nations framework declarations on the sustainable development goals and on refugees and migrants adopted in 2016 have prompted the editors - who have a background in international criminology - to invite 60 contributors from different countries to contribute their expertise on civic education aspects of the refugee and migrant crisis in the Global North and South. Comprising 35 articles, this book presents an overview of the interdisciplinary issues involved in irregular migration around the world. It is intended for educationists, educators, diplomats, those working in mass media, decision-makers, criminologists and other specialists faced with questions involving refugees and migrants as well as those interested in improving the prospects of orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration in the context of promoting peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development. Rather than a timeline for migration policies based on "now", with states focusing on "stopping migration now", "sending back migrants now" or "bringing in technicians or low-skilled migrant workers now", there should be a long-term strategy for multicultural integration and economic assimilation. This book, prefaced by Francois Crepeau, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, and William Lacy Swing, Director-General of the International Organization for Migration, addresses the question of the rights and responsibilities involved in migration from the academic and practical perspectives of experts in the field of social sciences and welfare, and charts the way forward to 2030 and beyond, and also beyond the paradigm of political correctness.

This book investigates the road map or the transitional justice mechanisms that theEthiopian government chose to confront the gross human rights violations perpetratedunder the 17 years' rule of the Derg, the dictatorial regime that controlled state powerfrom 1974 to 1991. Furthermore, the author extensively examines the prosecution ofpoliticide or genocide against political groups in Ethiopia. Dealing with the violent conflict, massacres, repressions and other mass atrocities ofthe past is necessary, not for its own sake, but to clear the way for a new beginning.In other words, ignoring gross human rights violations and attempting to close thechapter on an oppressive dictatorial past by choosing to let bygones be bygones, is nolonger a viable option when starting on the road to a democratic future. For unaddressedatrocities and a sense of injustice would not only continue to haunt a nation butcould also ignite similar conflicts in the future. So the question is what choices are available to the newly installed government whenconfronting the evils of the past. There are a wide array of transitional mechanismsto choose from, but there is no "one size fits all" mechanism. Of all the transitionaljustice mechanisms, namely truth commissions, lustration, amnesty, prosecution,and reparation, the Ethiopian government chose prosecution as the main means fordealing with the horrendous crimes committed by the Derg regime. One of the formidable challenges for transitioning states in dealing with the crimes offormer regimes is an inadequate legal framework by which to criminalize and punishegregious human rights violations. With the aim of examining whether or not Ethiopiahas confronted this challenge, the book assesses Ethiopia's legal framework regardingboth crimes under international law and individual criminal responsibility. This book will be of great relevance to academics and practitioners in the areas ofgenocide studies, international criminal law and transitional justice. Students in thefields of international criminal law, transitional justice and human rights will alsofind relevant information on the national prosecution of politicide in particular andthe question of confronting the past in general. Marshet Tadesse Tessema is Assistant Professor of the Law School, College of Law andGovernance at Jimma University in Ethiopia, and Postdoctoral Fellow of the SouthAfrican-German Centre, University of the Western Cape in South Africa.

This book seeks to bridge the gap between academic, political and military thinking concerning the success and failure of peacekeeping operations and their termination. Exit strategies have recently gained attention in political, military, academic and public debates, due to the Western engagement in international and intrastate conflicts since the end of the Cold War. Yet, many of those debates took place separately. This volume, which is predominantly a joint product of academics and the military of the Faculty of Military Sciences of the Netherlands Defence Academy, shows new venues by bridging the putative political-military divide. Drawing on theory, empirics, and personal experiences the authors address exits at political, strategic, operational and tactical levels of current and past military missions and interventions, ranging from decolonisation wars to Afghanistan and Iraq. Although some of those conflicts are still ongoing, valid inferences can be drawn. An important one is that exit forms a problem for those who leave and for those who stay. While political and military objectives might not have been reached and many of those involved have the feeling that the job is still not yet done, the termination of the entire mission or transitions at operational level necessitate both departures and handovers-takeovers and are thereby characterised by discontinuities and continuities at the same time. It is these dynamics between unfulfilled end states and end dates that, in the end, lead to the dilemma of leaving. All the editors, except van den Wollenberg, are affiliated with the Faculty of Military Sciences of the Netherlands Defence Academy in Breda, the Netherlands. Joerg Noll is Associate Professor of International Conflict Studies. First Lieutenant Air-Commodore Frans Osinga is Professor of Military Operational Art and Sciences. Georg Frerks is Professor International Security Studies and Irene van Kemenade runs the Research Office of the Faculty. Daan van den Wollenberg is Commander of a mechanized artillery platoon of the Netherlands armed forces.

This book examines selected legal complexities of the notion of torture and the issue of the proper foundation for legally characterizing certain acts as torture, especially when children are the targeted victims of torture. ICC case law is used to highlight the International Criminal Court's reluctance in practice to prosecute as a separable offence the crime of torture as set out in one or more of the relevant provisions of the Rome Statute where children are the particularized targets as part of a common plan during armed conflict. Also addressed is the failure of the ICC to consider that the young age of the victims of torture (i.e. children) should be an aggravating factor taken into account in determining the ICC sentence for those convicted of the torture of civilians, including children, in the context of armed conflict as part of a common plan. The six UN-designated grave crimes against children (including child soldiering for State or non-State forces perpetrating mass atrocities, and sexual violence perpetrated on a systematic and widespread basis against children including child soldiers), it is argued, are also instances of the torture of children as part of a common plan such that separate charges of torture are legally supportable (along with the other charges relating to additional Rome Statute offences involved in such circumstances). Useful legal perspectives on the issue of the torture of children in its various manifestations gleaned from the case law of other international judicial forums such as the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the ICTY are also examined.

This book focuses on Boko Haram and terrorism in Nigeria, framing the conflict in an international law context. It analyses the nature of political violence and the dominant roles of a violent nation-state (in both colonial and post-colonial experiences) and the rise of terrorism in Nigeria. The book unearths embedded evidence of religious nepotism on the part of state officials using such state institutions as Islamic Preaching Boards to promote one Islamic sect over another in mainly Muslim Northern Nigeria. The book offers insights into this subtle sectarian divide and how this and other 'subterranean' elements have contributed to the rise of Boko Haram in Northern Nigeria beyond the dominant poverty-terrorism nexus narrative. Furthermore, the book analyses the various components of Boko Haram's radical ideology, situates them in Islamic Jurisprudence, and examines the philosophy of the group (both in doctrine and practice) - their interpretation of the Koran and the waging of Jihad, and the extent to which they conform to the Islamic Sect Boko Haram claims to follow. The book then examines the basic doctrinal features and characteristics of Boko Haram - waging Jihad, prohibiting revealing dresses for women and mixing of genders, rejecting western values and institutions, denouncing scientific inquiry and democracy, hostage taking, sexual exploitation of captives and other aspects of jus ad bellum and jus in bello in Islamic jurisprudence and international law. Finally, the book analyses the plight of vulnerable groups such as internally displaced persons, the atrocities committed against women and girls in the Boko Haram insurgency and the (in)ability of international law to enforce the protections offered to the victims. From the perspective of critical intellectual inquiry, the book also challenges a number of fundamental assumptions and encourages us to revisit our legal characterisation of certain concepts such as "gender-based crimes". It then goes further to analyse some legal grey areas in the Boko Haram insurgency such as the legal status of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) and the legal framework for holding members accountable for violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. Overall, the book represents a valuable contribution to scholarship, deepens our understanding and delineates how international law could respond to the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria in particular and terrorism in Africa in general.

Since the 2003 U.S. led invasion of Iraq, the private military sector has seen the largest growth of profit for decades. As Iraq continues to be the focal point of private military clients, staff and related actors, the recurring issue of legitimacy must be addressed. While many texts focus only on existing or proposed legislation, this book analyses the public perception of private military companies (PMCs) and, of wider significance, how their use by states affects how the general public perceives state legitimacy of monopolizing force. Furthermore, this book provides a timely overview of how the energy sector and PMCs are challenging the established sovereignty of politically fragmented oil states, illustrating how energy firms may become as culpable as states in their partnerships with the private military sector and subsequent political ramifications.

Based on official records and reports, relevant secondary sources, and observations of members of the Convention's implementary organ, The Convention on the Rights of the Child describes and evaluates the first international human rights treaty to deal specifically with the rights and freedoms of the child. Mower deals first with the significance, origin, and development of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, then describes and analyzes its substantative content, procedures, and mechanisms for the Convention's implementation. He concludes with an examination of the factors that are most likely to determine the rate of progress toward the realization of the convention's goals. Based on official records, relevant secondary sources, and observations of members of the Convention's implementary organ, the book will be of considerable use to scholars and researchers in the fields of human rights and children's welfare.

Anthony Cullen advances an argument for a particular approach to the interpretation of non-international armed conflict in international humanitarian law. The first part examines the origins of the 'armed conflict' concept and its development as the lower threshold for the application of international humanitarian law. Here the meaning of the term is traced from its use in the Hague Regulations of 1899 until the present day. The second part focuses on a number of contemporary developments which have affected the scope of non-international armed conflict. The case law of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia has been especially influential and the definition of non-international armed conflict provided by this institution is examined in detail. It is argued that this concept represents the most authoritative definition of the threshold and that, despite differences in interpretation, there exist reasons to interpret an identical threshold of application in the Rome Statute.