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This article outlines and evaluates the US perspective on how treaty and customary international law protect the natural environment during international armed conflict. It surveys the relevant treaties to which the United States is a party and examines US views on their pertinent provisions. It then assesses claims that the environmental obligations residing in the 1977 Additional Protocol I to the 1949 Geneva Conventions have attained customary status, outlines the United States' rejection of those claims, and evaluates the reasonableness thereof. Finally, it highlights ambiguities in certain US environmental positions, the resolution of which would bring much-needed clarity to the law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As aerial weapons become more accurate and precise, they paradoxically expose civilians to greater harm. They make the use of military force feasible where previously it had not been. While these weapons are subject to legal review to certify that they are capable of being deployed in a discriminate manner, weapons review practice in the US and UK lends cursory approval to weapons that are as likely to harm civilians as enemy combatants. This article argues that a robust contextualized review of weapon's effects on civilians and combatants is both legally required and in states' strategic security interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Anbar University for Law & Political Sciences is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article explores how the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (the Court) has dealt with allegations of violations of the right to life during an armed conflict and, in particular, how it has dealt with allegations of violation of the obligation to investigate such allegations. The article notes that international humanitarian law (IHL) was initially used by the Court to strengthen the general obligations of states to protect the rights guaranteed by the American Convention on Human Rights (ACHR). Later IHL began informing the interpretation of specific rights. This change has been more significant in relation to the interpretation of the right to life under the ACHR than in the examination of state compliance with the right of access to justice, which encompasses the duty to investigate allegations of violations of the right to life during an armed conflict. The analysis of the Court's jurisprudence demonstrates that the different ways in which the Court has addressed the relationship between IHL and international human rights law (IHRL) have been informed by its primary effort to ensure that the interpretation of the ACHR provides the widest protection possible to individual rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the establishment, prevention and promotion of human rights. Topics discussed include European Convention on Human Rights; establishment of security in an international armed conflict as mentioned under the international humanitarian law; and Nicaragua v United States of America court case addressing Statute of the International Court of Justice.

It is clear the United States and other major powers see drone warfare as the wave of the future. Today more than 70 countries possess drone technology and many others are seeking to acquire it. It is expected that within 20 years, there will be swarms of drones and many autonomous fighters and bombers in use around the globe. If the trends continue as anticipated, these drones will usher in a 'boundless and borderless war without end'. The development of technological improvements will eventually lead to a militarisation of foreign policy and unnecessary conflicts. While the circumstances in Pakistan are unique, the questions surrounding the US drone programme in non-combat zones such as Pakistan raise important issues regarding how drone use should be governed in the future. This article is an attempt to analyse legal and ethical issues raised by the US use of drone technology in non-combat zones such as Pakistan, and it looks into its underpinnings and also its repercussions as tool in prospective warfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While assessing the legality of the US drone strikes in Pakistan, this article takes into account the nature of armed conflict which has potential to be converted into an international armed conflict (IAC) from a non-international armed conflict (NIAC). The growing trust-deficit between Pakistan and the US is catalyst for determination of nature of armed conflict. The arguments based on tacit consent of Pakistan no longer stands valid after a clear protest by Pakistani officials at national, bilateral and international level. It also examines the observance of the rules of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) in comparison with official US statements. Continued drone strikes are now being considered as counter-productive and resulting in increased suicide bombing in various cities of Pakistan. The author suggests a collaborative effort by considering other social, political and economic factors to minimize the violation of IHL for desired results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Allegations of criminal conduct have been made against UN peacekeeping personnel. While only a small number commit criminal offences, these personnel must be held accountable for their actions. Ensuring accountability is difficult due to jurisdictional issues, including in which jurisdiction (host state, sending state, or third state) to prosecute offenders. However, the possibility of the International Criminal Court exercising jurisdiction over peacekeeping personnel (civilian or military) has not really been considered. This article will examine the potential applicability of the substantive law of war crimes and crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute to crimes committed by peacekeeping personnel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the ways in which the two normative concerns of casualty-aversion and civilian protection influenced US military strategy in the particular context of the asymmetric conflict in Somalia in the early 1990s. The article critically evaluates US military operations through the prism of international humanitarian law and examines whether American forces started prioritizing casualty-aversion over the safeguarding of Somali civilians. Finally, by drawing on emerging moral guidelines (such as Michael Walzer's idea of ‘due care’), the article examines whether lower numbers of Somali civilian deaths could have been achieved if marginal increases to the risks faced by US soldiers had been accepted. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

At the time of the 10th anniversary of the opening of the detention centre in Guantanamo Bay, many are wondering about the reasons of its very existence in a country that purports to be the defender of the rule of law and human rights. To answer this question, this paper reviews the development of the regulations (both US and international humanitarian law) that are applied to the detainees. It also examines the violations of basic principles of law that have occurred and continue to occur, such as denial of access to ordinary courts and the right to a trial in case of detention, as well as breaches of the protections and guarantees provided by international humanitarian law. Finally, the author analyses the reasons that have allowed the centre to remain in operation despite President Obama's pledge to close it, which he made early on in his term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author discusses the evolution of the war on terror concept beginning from its inception following the events of September 11, 2001 to the present. He is critical of the inappropriate use of the concept for the special operations of the U.S. in Afghanistan and, to some extent, in Iraq. An analysis of the possible conclusions of the said operations based on modern international law and interests of Russian foreign policy is offered.

Faced with insurgencies and situations of internal armed conflict in a number of Organization of American States (OAS) member states, some states called upon the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to take into account the operations of irregular armed groups when assessing the situation of human rights in their countries. The IACHR responded that only assessment of state actions had been included within its mandate and that the OAS member states should amend the IACHR's Statute if they wished to expand its mandate. The OAS member states failed to do so. In 1996, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), in its Advisory Opinion on Nuclear Weapons, set forth its view on the relationship between international human rights law (IHRL) and international humanitarian law (IHL). In 1997, following the ICJ's Opinion, the IACHR began to apply IHL as the lex specialis in its assessments of the situation of IHRL and IHL to cases involving situations of armed conflict and continued to do so until the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) declared the IACHR incompetent to apply IHL. This article submits that the IACtHR erred in its judgment on the Preliminary Objections in Las Palmeras v. Colombia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mixing a discussion of the law with a discussion of pedagogical methods, this article examines the source and scope of the international legal obligation to educate military members on the law of armed conflict (LOAC). United States Air Force officer candidate education systems serve as the vehicle to identify a quantitative and qualitative baseline LOAC education requirement and assess how such a baseline standard is met by Air Force officer commissioning sources. This article asserts that such a baseline is no longer sufficient for professional military officers engaged in modern armed conflicts. The quantitative and qualitative methodology employed by the United States Air Force Academy to achieve an aspirational level of LOAC education is offered as an example of what the new LOAC education baseline should become to properly instruct future officers for the unique nature of modern armed conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Anuario Colombiano de Derecho Internacional is the property of Colegio Mayor de Nuestra Senora del Rosario and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The US government has recently renounced the term 'Global War on Terror', pointing out that it does not describeaccurately the nature of the terrorist threat. While the change of terminology is a welcomed development, it should be noted that 'War on Terror' was not merely a political slogan. The war paradigm was accompanied with a number of legal arguments and claims which have a direct link to the perplexing policy outcomes of the Bush era. One of the trickiest questions before the Obama administration is related to the concept of an armed conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author examines several factors that need to be addressed when considering the use of private security forces in boosting the future force structure of the U.S. Armed Forces. He presents the historical use of such contractors by military which began at the end of the Cold War. Private security contractors are defined as those who perform security-related tasks that include the protection of people. One risk of the future use of such contractors is the shift in career by a military personnel from the service to the contracting sector.

The level of non-combatant casualties in modern Western warfare is determined in large part by the way in which policymakers apportion risk between soldiers and civilians. In the U.S. counterinsurgency in Iraq, a “kinetic” strategy and a muscular doctrine of force protection have lowered the threshold for the use of violence and, in many cases, transferred risk from soldiers to civilians. Particularly in areas deemed hostile, aggressive tactics make up for a shortage of soldiers on the ground and direct violence toward non-combatants. This is not the fog of war: even unintended civilian casualties flow predictably from policy choices. Perceptions of risk increasingly govern U.S. interpretations of its humanitarian obligations under international law, threatening to dilute the doctrine of proportionality and reverse the customary and legal relationship between combatants and non-combatants. Only late in the war has the U.S. administration recalibrated risks and launched a more orthodox counterinsurgency strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), in force since 2014, aims to regulate the international trade of conventional weapons, estimated to be worth US$100billion a year, and seeks to reduce the illicit arms trade with the aim to reduce human suffering caused by illegal and irresponsible arms transfers. The paper uncovers the complexities of the decades-long negotiations process, and the politics at play involving such widely differing interests as non-governmental organisations, the arms importing and arms exporting countries. It discovers that the drafting of the treaty was heavily influenced and dominated by the interests of the powerful arms exporting countries. It resulted in a treaty that has many flaws and loopholes that can be exploited for political interests and many escape clauses whereby the arms exporters can continue to conduct arms trade as business as usual. The paper also looks at ATT from Pakistan's perspective and discusses its significance for Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]