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These include (1) effective investigation by States of their own forces for alleged violations of IHL; (2) measures by actors supporting parties to armed conflicts to further respect for IHL among those they support; (3) examining and applying the findings of the research underpinning the study on the roots of restraint in war; and (4) presenting concrete examples of IHL compliance. Because of the close proximity of military objectives to civilians and civilian objects, the particular vulnerability of civilians in urban environments as a result of their dependency on interlinked essential services, and the wide-area effects of the explosive weapons of concern, the use of such weapons in populated areas typically results in significant civilian harm, raising serious questions about the interpretation and application of the relevant IHL rules. While common Article 3 is silent on conditions of detention, Additional Protocol II when applicable and customary IHL rules require parties to armed conflict to provide humane conditions of detention for all conflict-related detainees. Whatever the machine, computer program, or weapon system used, individuals and parties to conflicts remain responsible for their effects. For example, where the content of education provided at a school is of an ideology that increases the level of community support for one party to the conflict, this does not make a direct effective contribution to military action, even if it strengthens political commitment, or encourages recruitment or support for the war effort of an enemy party to the conflict. Further, purely legal interpretations do not accommodate the ethical concerns raised by the loss of human control over the use of force in armed conflict. This is particularly the case given the long-term consequences of attacking a school, which may include the total loss of access to education for children in that community and the corresponding impact on the daily life of the local civilian population. Depending on the barriers to education in a given context, ensuring that children receive an education may need the allocation of funding for teachers salaries, running costs of schools, or educational materials for students; the construction of educational facilities for displaced children; and coordination with humanitarian organizations to ensure access to education. I would like to end with a quote from Martin Luther King that I am sure is well known by this audience: Morality cannot be legislated, but behavior can be regulated. In particular, recent conflicts have shown the devastating effects that urban warfare has on critical civilian infrastructure and the delivery of essential services to the population, especially when explosive weapons with a wide impact area are used. in self-defence scenarios). However, the same algorithmically-generated analyses, or predictions, might also facilitate wrong decisions, violations of IHL and exacerbated risks for civilians. On Wednesday, April 14, Contemporary Challenges in American & Global Law held its first program of the Spring Session, focusing on "Combating Gender-Based Violence: The Council of Europe Istanbul Convention Approach and the U.S. Experience."The program was held just weeks after Turkeywhich was the first country to ratify the Istanbul Convention in 2011announced its withdrawal from . International Consumer Law: What Is It All About? | SpringerLink The intensity of violence in Ukraine has abated, but the six-year-old conflict shows few signs of resolution and a high potential for re-escalation. When conflicts are not resolved, displaced persons, far too often, are effectively deprived of the possibility of returning voluntarily, in safety and with dignity, to their homes. What is needed is nuanced discourse on the subject, because the perception that IHL is continuously violated and therefore ineffective does not reflect the reality of contemporary armed conflicts. Tens of thousands of conflict-related detainees have remained connected with their families; prisoners of war have been released and repatriated; and mortal remains have been returned to relatives. 49 Such prohibitions are incompatible with three areas of IHL: the rules governing humanitarian activities, including the entitlement of impartial humanitarian organizations to offer their services and the obligation to allow and facilitate the relief activities undertaken by such organizations; the rules protecting the wounded and the sick as well as those providing medical assistance, notably the prohibition against punishing a person for performing medical duties in line with medical ethics; and the rules protecting humanitarian personnel. States remain free to choose between different possible measures that would be adequate to ensure respect, and are not responsible if such positive measures do not succeed. The ultimate aim of a siege is usually to force the enemy to surrender, historically through starvation and thirst, though in contemporary conflicts besieging forces usually attempt to capture the besieged area through hostilities. On the other hand, recent cyber operations which have been primarily conducted outside the context of armed conflict show that sophisticated actors have developed the capability to disrupt the provision of essential services to the civilian population. The use of explosive weapons with a wide impact area against military objectives located in populated areas is not prohibited per se under IHL, but it is regulated by the rules on the conduct of hostilities notably the prohibition against indiscriminate attacks, the prohibition against disproportionate attacks, and the obligation to take all feasible precautions in attack. In current times, we need a strong, predictable, reliable international law order in order to deliver on the three pillars of the UN Charter, peace and security, human rights, and development, which has been translated into a very powerful contemporary social contract: the 2030 Agenda and the sustainable development goals. major challenges. In some contexts, counterterrorism measures have prevented humanitarian relief and protection from reaching those most in need. Nonetheless, parties to conflict must take constant care to spare the civilian population in all military operations. In many instances, belligerents state openly that they consider it in their own interest to operate in accordance with IHL, even beyond the legal and moral obligation to do so. However, it is also clear that existing IHL rules do not provide all the answers. Where these assessments form part of planning assumptions, they must have continuing validity until the execution of the attack. For certain rules, such as those on the treatment of detainees and their conditions of detention, the challenge may be one of ensuring that non-State armed groups know and accept the law and integrate its provisions into their internal rules and organizational culture; have practical guidance to implement IHL in different operational contexts; and dispose of the requisite material resources to ensure humane conditions of detention. Other serious violations of the laws and customs of war a legal term of art synonymous with war crimes that may be committed in international or non-international armed conflict must also be dealt with. To support policy development in this regard by States and parties to armed conflicts, the ICRC recommended, in a recently published report, a number of good practices for implementing an avoidance policy and for facilitating compliance with IHL rules on the conduct of hostilities in populated areas. 89 And over the past seven decades, the UN has provided the framework for international laws, norms and mechanisms on everything from the promotion of human rights and gender equality to the regulation of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. Many States recognize that IHL applies to their counterterrorism operations when the conditions for its application are met. definitions. In addition, schools are frequently closed by authorities owing to surrounding hostilities and conflict-exacerbated resource constraints. Contemporary Challenges in International Human Rights - Harvard Law In some cases, the fighting in which the new group is engaged is entirely separate from previous hostilities, and its involvement in violence so diminished that the armed conflict threshold will not be reached. As with all weapon systems, they must be capable of use in compliance with IHL, particularly its rules on the conduct of hostilities. The United Nations has set ending hunger, achieving food security and improved nutrition, and promoting sustainable agriculture as the second of its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the year 2030. 59 There is an urgent need to unequivocally reject such misconceptions and to reassert that, even though terrorism flagrantly contravenes the basic principle of humanity, it must be fought in a manner that is exemplary in its respect for the law. If the period since the 2015 International Conference has seen some actors solidify their reputation for brutality, it has also seen signs of an alarming response from others: the notion that some individuals or groups are so bad that they and sometimes even their families or communities are beyond the humanitarian protection of IHL. The ICRC has specific humanitarian concerns regarding the current treatment and future situation of foreign fighters and their families. Even if they become military objectives, all feasible precautions must be taken prior to attack to avoid or at least minimize incidental harm to civilian students, personnel and facilities. At any rate, force protection can never justify the use of indiscriminate fire as a measure to avoid the exposure of own or friendly forces. Article 11 of the CRPD addresses armed conflicts and imposes an obligation on States Parties to ensure the safety and protection of persons with disabilities in accordance with both IHL and human rights law. For example, medical devices in hospitals are connected to the hospital network, and biomedical devices such as pacemakers and insulin pumps are sometimes remotely connected through the internet. The report addresses three of them. Other bodies of law, including international human rights law, might also be relevant when assessing surveillance and disinformation. More often, probably, there will be situations in which additional groups join forces with groups already engaged in a conflict. This growth of connectivity increases the sector's digital dependence and attack surface and leaves it exposed, especially when these developments are not matched by a corresponding improvement in cyber security. This can entail allowing civilians to leave or otherwise removing them from the vicinity of military objectives, for example by evacuating them from a besieged area where hostilities are ongoing or expected to take place. It is difficult to conclude that all non-State armed groups have human rights obligations as a matter of law; however, this approach recognizes that the needs of the civilian population living under the de facto control of a non-State armed group may warrant the engagement of humanitarian and human rights organizations with such groups on a broader scope of issues than those tackled by IHL applicable in non-international armed conflict. In the midst of significant uncertainty, there are four things we can do: 1) boost confidence in trade and global markets by improving transparency about trade-related policy actions and intentions; 2) keep supply chains flowing, especially for essentials such as health supplies and food; 3) avoid making things worse, through unnecessary export . This approach takes into account the fact that the notion of the natural environment may evolve over time, based on increased knowledge but also as the environment itself is subject to constant change. These rules, which were adopted in 1977, were among the first to explicitly protect the natural environment in times of armed conflict, following the Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques. As mentioned in earlier sections of this report, a central feature of the changing geopolitical landscape of the last decade has been the proliferation of non-State armed groups, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa. The second section of Chapter II is devoted to new technologies of warfaresome of which have been employed in recent conflicts. In terms of treaty law, the four 1949 Geneva Conventions and Protocol I of 8 June 1977 additional to the Geneva Conventions (Additional Protocol I) apply to all cases of declared war or any other armed conflict which may arise between two or more of the High Contracting Parties. Importantly, these rules require, inter alia, that grounds and procedures are provided by the detaining party when foreign fighters and their families are interned for imperative reasons of security, that judicial guarantees are respected where individuals face criminal charges, and that no one is transferred to an authority if there are substantial reasons to believe that the person would be in danger of being subjected to certain fundamental rights violations if transferred. The ICRC is now exploring the nature of informal norms in six different armed forces in different parts of the world to see whether this is a potential avenue of interest for enhancing compliance with the law. Inhabitants are left without sufficient food or water, sanitation and electricity, and deprived of health care; such privation is aggravated when cities are besieged. lack of accessible information on available humanitarian relief), or attitudinal (e.g. The responsibility for ensuring this rests with every State that is developing, acquiring and using these new technologies of warfare. Increasingly, fighting takes place in cities, and this creates a number of specific challenges for parties to the conflict. The Charter of the United Nations and the Statute of the International Court of Justice were signed at the same time. For instance, ensuring respect for the rules and principles on the conduct of hostilities protecting civilian objects can help limit the degradation or destruction of critical civilian infrastructure that provides essential services. IHL provides that impartial humanitarian organizations have a right to offer their services in order to carry out humanitarian activities, in particular when the needs of the population affected by the armed conflict are not being met. At the same time, new means of warfare and the way they are employed can pose new risks to combatants and civilians, and can challenge the interpretation and implementation of IHL. And second, it is a matter of controversy whether human rights law also binds non-State actors. As was discussed in the ICRC's 2015 report on IHL and the challenges of contemporary armed conflicts, various views exist on the applicability of IHL in these situations. The obligation to ensure respect for IHL is an obligation of means and not of result, and States have very broad discretion in choosing measures with which to exercise influence. Initially, the study sought to explore why violence occurs.