Civilian harm in armed conflict has reached staggering levels. The United Nations recently recorded a 72% increase in civilian casualties worldwide, a stark reminder of the devastating human toll of modern warfare. Yet, mechanisms to provide justice and redress for those harmed remain inadequate. Recent developments, including the International Law Commission’s (ILC) renewed focus on state responsibility and reparations for wrongful acts, and the US’ Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response Action Plan, underscore the growing imperative to address this accountability gap. For some states, this moral argument is augmented by the strategic case that adequate reparation is imperative to winning the hearts and minds of local populations. This post highlights the urgent need for reparations frameworks that provide practical and timely redress for civilians harmed during armed conflict. Drawing on comparative insights from the US, the Netherlands, and Israel, it critiques the UK’s existing approach and identifies actionable pathways for reform.
Armed Conflict
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Some Issues in The Law Concerning Naval Auxiliaries
Introduction The use of non-warships and non-coast guard cutters for contest operations is a clear feature of current tensions at sea. The use of merchant vessels to cut cables in the Baltic Sea, along with harassment and presence operations by fishing vessels as part of the PRC maritime militia in the South China Sea…
Metaphors, Rules and War: Making Sense of Hybrid Threats and Grey Zone Conflict
About a decade ago, hybrid warfare made its big breakthrough. The concept had been around for a number of years, but few people knew what it meant and even fewer seemed to care. In 2014, Russia launched the opening act of its ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine, taking control of the Crimean Peninsula. It did so through…
‘Hybrid threats, ‘grey zones’, ‘competition’, and ‘proxies’: When is it actually war?
In the last few months, suspicious fires in warehouses and aboard aircraft, the severing of undersea power and Internet cables, GPS jamming, cyber operations against critical civilian infrastructure, and allegations of influence operations and election interference have been depicted as ‘hybrid warfare’ by both politicians and the media. So-called ‘hybrid threats’ or ‘hybrid attacks’, as well as allegations…
Anti-personnel landmines in Ukraine: A worrying escalation
On Wednesday, November 20, 2024, the United States announced its decision to supply anti-personnel landmines to Ukraine. Zelenskyy thanked the US for its decision and called these landmines essential for stopping Russian assaults, clearly indicating the intention to use these anti-personnel mines during the conflict. However, while the announcement was met with approval from Ukrainian officials,…