The United States has justified targeted operations against suspected terrorists as a legitimate tool in the war against terrorism. In response to international criticism that a November 2002 targeted killing operation in Yemen violated human rights standards, the US asserted that the right to life was suspended during war. While this assertion is prima facie incorrect, many legal experts, scholars and authors agree in principle that a military response to international terrorism -- along with the concomitant dilution of the right to life -- is not only appropriate, but also complies with international law. However, the modern jus ad bellum limit the circumstances in which a state may lawfully resort to armed force. A fulsome understanding of international humanitarian law and the characteristics of groups such as Al Qaeda reveals that international law does not permit states to employ their military forces to responde to the international crime of international terrorism.

Cyberwar challenges future endeavors of state security. As technological capability has improved, and access to information has become more widespread the importance of the issue in today's ever-globalizing world grows each day. A primary objective is to evaluate the place of cyber-warfare against nation-states and any repercussions under an international law paradigm. Utilizing an English School perspective, emphasis will be applied to the argument that disruptive circumstances could come to fruition if international conventions are not created to bring consensus and order among nation-states on this subject. This study hypothesizes that a future application could be an agreement under international law, beyond current regional cooperative initiatives. Since cyber-related attack is a relatively new development, the issue lacks adequate historical context. In addition, since state behavior is a major contributor to the interpretation of international law, the matter is in need of a clear delineation of the norms that define the phenomena and what acceptable responses might entail. Case study analysis will highlight recent examples of state behavior and cyber-related attacks and sabotages.

The tendency after the end of the Cold war to downsize national armies on the one hand and persistent armed conflicts in unstable African, Near East and Balkan regions on the other created opening conditions for the revival and rapid evolvement of the private business structures that provide military and security services. Prevailing viewpoint that PMSCs and their personnel represent the new form of the mercenary is not correct from the IHL perspective and could lead to serious human rights abuses. Numerous cases and analysis of the scholar literature shows that inaccurate qualification of the PMSCs’ employees’ status results into deprivation of certain scope of protection from private contractors. Moreover, since there are no accountability and control mechanisms, a high risk for the abuses and impunity for violations of the IHL occurs. Present master thesis aims to analyze international legal status of the PMSCs and their personnel in the context of armed conflict. It also assesses conformity of the existing practice to the IHL norms. In order to conclude a comprehensive research, author provides historical perspective of the warfare privatization, surveys factors that contributed to the outsourcing of military functions, defines what is PMSC, what are their types and capacity of each type, highlights distinguishing features between mercenaries and private contractors and gives a review of the contemporary practice of their use in the armed conflicts. Hypothesis that... [to full text] / Pasibaigus Šaltajam karui išryškėjusi tendencija valstybėms mažinti savo ginkluotąsias pajėgas ir nuolatiniai kariniai konfliktai nestabiliuose Afrikos, Artimųjų Rytų, Balkanų regionuose sudarė palankias sąlygas atgyti ir sparčiai plėtotis privačių, karines ir saugumo paslaugas teikiančių, kompanijų verslui. Vyraujantis požiūris, kad PKSK-jų darbuotojai atstovauja naują samdinystės formą nėra teisiškai korektiškas ir gali lemti grubius žmogaus teisių pažeidimus. Gausi praktika bei mokslinės literatūros analizė rodo, kad privačių kompanijų darbuotojų teisinis statusas klaidingai ir skirtingai kvalifikuojamas pagal tarptautinę humanitarinę teisę. Viena vertus tai sąlygoja kad kompanijų darbuotojams nesuteikiama jiems priklausanti apsauga. Antra vertus, nesant aiškių tarptautinės PKSK-jų atskaitomybės ir kontrolės mechanizmų, susidaro sąlygos piktnaudžiavimui bei nebaudžiamumui už įvykdytus nusikaltimus. Šiame magistro baigiamajame darbe siekiama išanalizuoti PKSK-jų ir jų darbuotojų tarptautinį teisinį statusą ginkluotų konfliktų metu ir įvertinti egzistuojančios praktikos atitikimą tarptautinės humanitarinės teisės normoms. Siekiant atlikti išsamų tyrimą, iškelti uždaviniai pateikti istorinę karo privatizacijos apžvalgą, aptarti procesą skatinančius faktorius, apibrėžti, kas yra PKSK, kokie jų tipai ir kiekvieno iš jų kompetencija, išryškinti skiriamuosius privačių karių ir samdinių bruožus bei apžvelgti dabartinę praktiką šioje srityje. Remiantis pirmine literatūros analize... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

This thesis addresses the potential for third parties to apply or make use of International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law to protect civilians caught in the midst of civil war. A case study is presented of El Salvador, where conflict in the 1970s and 1980s took the lives of an estimated 75,000 people and caused immense human suffering. Of particular interest is how organizations under the aegis of the Salvadoran Catholic Church provided data on human rights violations, gathered with credible precision, to the international community. The Canadian public responded to the situation in El Salvador in a markedly different way than the Canadian government, whose pronouncements were at first ill-informed and uncritically pro-American. The question thus arises: do counter-consensus or public-pressure groups exert any influence over a state’s foreign policy and, if so, does this phenomenon contribute to conflict resolution? While there is disagreement over the actual success that public groups and interested parties have over government decision-making, this thesis demonstrates that, in fact, the counter-consensus in Canada did have a discernable impact on foreign policy during the Salvadoran conflict. These actions have potential contributions to make to conflict resolution and the search for a negotiated end to civil strife, which in the case of El Salvador was generated in the first place not by an alleged international communist conspiracy but by crippling geographies of inequality. / Thesis (Master, Geography) -- Queen's University, 2007-09-26 11:52:47.301

Antrasis pasaulinis karas – vienas iš baisiausių karų žmonijos istorijoje. Jis nusinešė daugiau nei 60 milijonų žmonių gyvybių. Pagrindinis tarptautinės humanitarinės teisės tikslas – apsaugoti žmonių gyvybes. Deja, Antrojo pasaulinio karo metu to padaryti nepavyko. Šiame darbe siekiama apžvelgti šio karo metu galiojusias tarptautinės humanitarinės teisės normas, jų spragas, valstybių įsipareigojimų apimtį ir vykdytus pažeidimus bei išsiaiškinti jų priežastis. Taip pat apžvelgiama Antrojo pasaulinio karo įtaka vėlesnei tarptautinės humanitarinės teisės raidai. Pirmoje darbo dalyje apžvelgtos pagrindinės iki Antrojo pasaulinio karo priimtos tarptautinės humanitarinės teisės normos, Tarptautinių diplomatinių konferencijų baigiamieji aktai, siekta išsiaiškinti valstybių ketinimus ir tikslus dėl tarptautinių ginkluotų konfliktų reglamentavimo. Toliau apžvelgiami tarptautiniai konfliktai, autoriaus nuomone, turėję priversti tarptautinę bendriją susimąstyti dėl humanitarinės teisės normų veiksmingumo. Pirmasis pasaulinis karas ir Italijos – Etiopijos karas parodė, kad galiojusias teisės normas būtina tobulinti, nes jos nesugebėjo užtikrinti pagrindinių humanitarinės teisės tikslų – apsaugoti žmonių gyvybių bei padaryti karą humaniškesnį. Antroji šio darbo dalis skirta karo aukų apsaugai. Iš pradžių kalbama apie sužeistųjų ir ligonių apsaugą ginkluoto konflikto metu. Jų padėtį reglamentavo 1929 m. Ženevos konvencija dėl sužeistųjų ir sergančiųjų padėties veikiančiose armijose... [to full text] / The Second World War is one of the most terrible wars in the history of mankind. There were about 60 million direct victims of the war. The main aim of international humanitarian law is to protect lives of human beings. Unfortunately, it failed to do this during the Second World War. In this work it is intended to review the main rules which were in effect during this war, their gaps and imperfections, the obligations of the belligerents and violations committed by them. It is also discussed the impact of the World War Two to the future development of the international humanitarian law.

Thesis (LL.M.)--The Judge Advocate General's School, United States Army, 2007. / Title from PDF t.p. (LLMC Digital, viewed on Mar. 22, 2010). "April 2007". Includes bibliographical references.

abstract: Protracted Refugee Situations (PRS) are of serious concern due to their adverse impacts on human rights and stability in host countries. This thesis profiles three, so-called, durable solutions for refugees: local integration, third country resettlement, and voluntary repatriation. However, refugees living in PRS are not given any durable solutions, and they remain confined to refugee camps while the conflicts that forced them from their homelands continue. Refugees usually find themselves in PRS as a result of the restrictive policies of the country in which they have sought refuge. These conditions not only deprive refugees of basic human rights, but act as catalysts for political violence, insurgency, and radicalization. This thesis examines, in detail, one such case: Nahr al-Bared, a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon where refugees have been living in PRS for decades due to stringent refugee policies that contributed to violent clashes that took place in May 2007. The denial of human rights for Palestinians in Lebanon has effectively marginalized already disempowered refugee populations, thereby increasing the likelihood of instability and radicalization. The denial of rights, a lack of opportunities, and confinement to the poor conditions of the refugee camp, are driving forces of political violence and militant rhetoric. This situation can endanger the refugee host country as well as the refugees, who are civilians in need of international protection. Therefore, there is a strong connection between the inclusion of rights for refugee populations in a host country, and peace and security. The case of Palestinians in Lebanon is examined as a microcosm of the notion that human rights and state security are interdependent. Recognition of this interdependence necessitates a paradigm shift in perspectives and policies of international refugee protection and state security, from regarding PRS as an indefinite state of emergency to be contained, to acknowledgment that the indefinite duty to protect refugees in protracted situations simultaneously serves the host country's security concerns. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. Social Justice and Human Rights 2010

Space technologies are becoming increasingly indispensible for modern societies and militaries around the globe, through a heightened dependency on satellite based services. At the same time, anti-satellite weapons are being developed and tested with the capacity to attack and destroy a satellite with precision. In the light of this development, the legal uncertainty on what rules apply to belligerent use of force in the realm of outer space is problematic. Since dual-use satellites do not enjoy explicit special protection in international law, it is relevant to clarify what legal protection they do hold, being objects enabling indispensable societal services. Would state practice and hostile space conduct prevail clarification, a fatal international custom might develop, and the difficulty of reaching agreements regulating attacks on satellites, along with other hostile behavior, enhanced. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate what the current frameworks of space law and international humanitarian law provide in terms of restraints to states’ legal possibilities to attack dual-use satellites in times of armed conflict. It is concluded that both frameworks do hold restrictions respectively. Though, the need for regulation is still evident in order to achieve a clear and foreseeable legal reality along with a sustainable future of space exploration where international peace and security can be maintained.

Le non-conventionnel, primat de la conflictualité contemporaine, modifie les voies utiles de son règlement juridique et militaire. De facto, à la traditionnelle dichotomie combattants et non-combattants, et aux notions obsolètes de déclaration de guerre et de guerre, se substituent une pluralité d’agresseurs et une superposition de cadres juridiques, fondement même de l’interaction des normes applicables en l’espèce, tant au niveau du droit local interne, que régional européen, ou encore international. La traduction juridique de cette confusion apparaît particulièrement dans les jurisprudences européennes et plus généralement dans la montée de l’Europe et de ses droits. Les connexions inter-juridictionnelles complexes, tant horizontales que verticales, s’illustrent particulièrement en matière de lutte contre le terrorisme, incarnant la mise en balance continue entre sécurité collective et protection des droits fondamentaux. En outre, le déplacement du centre de gravité des nouvelles conflictualités, du champ de la sécurité publique vers celui de la défense, revêt des conséquences en matière de respect des droits fondamentaux et de doctrine d’emploi des forces armées. Celles-ci sont les actrices principales de l’altération concrète du distinguo jus ad bellum, jus in bello, actionnées qu’elles sont sur le fondement de concepts nouveaux, qui sont autant de considérations à l’appui d’une refonte de modus operandi obsolètes, et motivant des interrogations relatives à l’interprétation du droit existant (lex lata) et de la nature des modifications à porter (lex ferenda) / The non-conventional, primacy of the contemporary conflicts, alters the useful ways of legal and military settlement. De facto, beyond the traditional dichotomy combattant versus non combattant, and to the obsolete notions of declaration of war and war, substitute a wide diversity of aggressors and a superposition of legal frameworks, the very basis of the interaction of applicable standards in this case, at the level of both the local internal law, the regional European law and the international law. The legal translation of this confusion figures particularly in european case law and more usually in the rise of Europe and its laws modifications. The complex inter-jurisdictional connections, horizontal and vertical, are particularly present in case of fight against terrorism embodying the continuous balancing test of the collective security and protection of fundamental laws. In addition, the shift in the centre of gravity of the new conflicts, from the scope of the public security to the defence, leads to consequences in the field of fundamental laws respect and doctrine of use of armed forces. They are the main agents of the practical weathering of the distinguo jus ad bellum, jus in bello, sued on the basis of new concepts, which are so many arguments to overhaul the obsolete modus operandi, explaining questions related to interpretation of existing law (lex lata) and the nature of the necessary modifications (lex ferenda)

La multiplication des groupes et des organisations terroristes dans les pays musulmans au cours des dernières décennies a considérablement affecté les populations éligibles à l’aide humanitaire. Les travailleurs et les convois humanitaires eux-mêmes sont ciblés par ces groupes et ces organisations. Cette l’extension de la violence à l’égard de la communauté humanitaire possèdes des raisons et des justifications diverses et variées mais l’on retrouve partout un « choc des perceptions » chez toutes les parties engagées dans l’action humanitaire.Après une étude du contexte général dans lequel interviennent les attaques contre les humanitaires, cette thèse s’attaque à l’étude des perceptions observables chez les populations locales concernant les organisations et les travailleurs humanitaires. Elle étudie également l’impact des législations et des mesures anti-terroristes sur l’action humanitaire et la relation des acteurs aux populations locales. / The proliferation of terrorist groups and organizations in Muslim countries during the recent decades has greatly affected people in need of humanitarian assistance and protection. Humanitarian workers and assets have been targeted by these groups and organizations. This violence against the humanitarian community is due to many different reasons, however this research demonstrates a "clash of perceptions" amongst all stakeholders involved in humanitarian action, including humanitarian workers themselves and the armed actors.After assessing the general context in which the violence against humanitarians occurs, this thesis addresses the state of perceptions amongst local people both in respect of organizations and aid workers. It also examines the impact of counter-terrorism measures on humanitarian action, including international and national instruments, and how these have impacted the relationship between aid workers and local populations.