Protecting Civilians in War

Protecting Civilians in War
Author: Miriam Bradley
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 232
Release: 2016
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0198716389

This volume examines the roles, methods, and effectiveness of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in protecting civilians in internal armed conflicts.

Protection of Civilians

Protection of Civilians
Author: Haidi Willmot
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 497
Release: 2016
Genre: Law
ISBN: 019872926X

The protection of civilians which has been at the forefront of international discourse during recent years is explored through harnessing perspective from international law and international relations. Presenting the realities of diplomacy and mandate implementation in academic discourse.

The Handbook of International Humanitarian Law

The Handbook of International Humanitarian Law
Author: Michael Bothe
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 767
Release: 2013-08-29
Genre: History
ISBN: 0199658803

The third edition of this work sets out a comprehensive and analytical manual of international humanitarian law, accompanied by case analysis and extensive explanatory commentary by a team of distinguished and internationally renowned experts.

Protecting Civilians

Protecting Civilians
Author: Siobhán Wills
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 319
Release: 2009-02-26
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0199533873

Historical review of civilian protection by UN peacekeepers -- The extent to which peacekeeping and other multi-national forces have a general 'responsibility to protect' under international humanitarian law -- The extent to which peacekeeping and other multi-national forces have a general 'responsibility to protect' under international human rights law -- The applicability of occupation law to peacekeeping and other multi-national operations -- Implications for peacekeepers and other multi-national forces.

Armed Conflict and Human Rights Law

Armed Conflict and Human Rights Law
Author: Daniel Ivo Odon
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 227
Release: 2021-07-29
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1000408930

This book explores developments in international law regarding the relationship between human rights law and international humanitarian law and their coapplicability in armed conflict situations. The work examines the jurisprudence of the international human rights courts and looks at the Inter-American and European Courts of Human Rights case law in dealing with new emergencies in armed conflicts. It argues that a new interpretation and application of the law is required to deal with current needs while remaining faithful to moral commitments made in the international arena. In this way, the book deals with recent cases and their rationale to build a new understanding of law and international policy that complies with the globalization process and progress towards an enhancement of the international community’s legal framework. Combining the emergencies in armed conflicts with the mutual enforcement of human rights law and humanitarian law, this book holistically develops concepts and theories to present a pragmatic solution to moral quandaries over the targeting of civilians during armed conflict situations. The book will be a valuable resource for academics, researchers and policy-makers in the areas of international human rights and international humanitarian law.

The Grey Zone

The Grey Zone
Author: Mark Lattimer
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 476
Release: 2018-07-26
Genre: Law
ISBN: 150990865X

The high civilian death toll in modern, protracted conflicts such as those in Syria or Iraq indicate the limits of international law in offering protections to civilians at risk. A recent conference of states convened by the International Committee of the Red Cross referred to 'an institutional vacuum in the area of international humanitarian law implementation'. Yet both international humanitarian law and the law of human rights establish a series of rights intended to protect civilians. But which law or laws apply in a particular situation, and what are the obstacles to their implementation? How can the law offer greater protections to civilians caught up in new methods of warfare, such as drone strikes, or targeted by new forms of military organisation, such as transnational armed groups? Can the implementation gap be filled by the growing use of human rights courts to remedy violations of the laws of armed conflict, or are new instruments or mechanisms of civilian legal protection needed? This volume brings together contributions from leading academic authorities and legal practitioners on the situation of civilians in the grey zone between human rights and the laws of war. The chapters in Part 1 address key contested or boundary issues in defining the rights of civilians or non-combatants in today's conflicts. Those in Part 2 examine remedies and current mechanisms for redress both at the international and national level, and those in Part 3 assess prospects for the development of new mechanisms for addressing violations. As military intervention to protect civilians remains contested, this volume looks at the potential for developing alternative approaches to the protection of civilians and their rights.

The Oxford Guide to International Humanitarian Law

The Oxford Guide to International Humanitarian Law
Author: Ben Saul
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 605
Release: 2020-05-07
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0192597493

International humanitarian law is the law that governs the conduct of participants during armed conflict. This branch of law aims to regulate the means and methods of warfare as well as to provide protections to those who do not, or who no longer, take part in the hostilities. It is one of the oldest branches of international law and one of enduring relevance today. The Oxford Guide to International Humanitarian Law provides a practical yet sophisticated overview of this important area of law. Written by a stellar line up of contributors, drawn from those who not only have extensive practical experience but who are also regarded as leading scholars of the subject, the text offers a comprehensive and authoritative exposition of the field. The Guide provides professionals and advanced students with information and analysis of sufficient depth to enable them to perform their tasks with understanding and confidence. Each chapter illuminates how the law applies in practice, but does not shy away from the important conceptual issues that underpin how the law has developed. It will serve as a first port of call and a regular reference work for those interested in international humanitarian law.

Targeting Civilians in War

Targeting Civilians in War
Author: Alexander B. Downes
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Total Pages: 329
Release: 2011-05-15
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0801457297

Accidental harm to civilians in warfare often becomes an occasion for public outrage, from citizens of both the victimized and the victimizing nation. In this vitally important book on a topic of acute concern for anyone interested in military strategy, international security, or human rights, Alexander B. Downes reminds readers that democratic and authoritarian governments alike will sometimes deliberately kill large numbers of civilians as a matter of military strategy. What leads governments to make such a choice? Downes examines several historical cases: British counterinsurgency tactics during the Boer War, the starvation blockade used by the Allies against Germany in World War I, Axis and Allied bombing campaigns in World War II, and ethnic cleansing in the Palestine War. He concludes that governments decide to target civilian populations for two main reasons—desperation to reduce their own military casualties or avert defeat, or a desire to seize and annex enemy territory. When a state's military fortunes take a turn for the worse, he finds, civilians are more likely to be declared legitimate targets to coerce the enemy state to give up. When territorial conquest and annexation are the aims of warfare, the population of the disputed land is viewed as a threat and the aggressor state may target those civilians to remove them. Democracies historically have proven especially likely to target civilians in desperate circumstances. In Targeting Civilians in War, Downes explores several major recent conflicts, including the 1991 Persian Gulf War and the American-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Civilian casualties occurred in each campaign, but they were not the aim of military action. In these cases, Downes maintains, the achievement of quick and decisive victories against overmatched foes allowed democracies to win without abandoning their normative beliefs by intentionally targeting civilians. Whether such "restraint" can be guaranteed in future conflicts against more powerful adversaries is, however, uncertain. During times of war, democratic societies suffer tension between norms of humane conduct and pressures to win at the lowest possible costs. The painful lesson of Targeting Civilians in War is that when these two concerns clash, the latter usually prevails.

The Deaths of Others

The Deaths of Others
Author: John Tirman
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 418
Release: 2011-07-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0199831491

Americans are greatly concerned about the number of our troops killed in battle--33,000 in the Korean War; 58,000 in Vietnam; 4,500 in Iraq--and rightly so. But why are we so indifferent, often oblivious, to the far greater number of casualties suffered by those we fight and those we fight for? This is the compelling, largely unasked question John Tirman answers in The Deaths of Others. Between six and seven million people died in Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq alone, the majority of them civilians. And yet Americans devote little attention to these deaths. Other countries, however, do pay attention, and Tirman argues that if we want to understand why there is so much anti-Americanism around the world, the first place to look is how we conduct war. We understandably strive to protect our own troops, but our rules of engagement with the enemy are another matter. From atomic weapons and carpet bombing in World War II to napalm and daisy cutters in Vietnam and beyond, our weapons have killed large numbers of civilians and enemy soldiers. Americans, however, are mostly ignorant of these methods, believing that American wars are essentially just, necessary, and "good." Trenchant and passionate, The Deaths of Others forces readers to consider the tragic consequences of American military action not just for Americans, but especially for those we fight against.