Application of the international law of occupation in situations of a long-term occupation Abstract The topic of the master thesis is an analysis of the application of the international law of occupation in a situation of a long-term occupation, i.e. an occupation which spreads over years or decades. The aim of the thesis is to critically assess whether the current legal framework, i.e. the law of occupation as a part of the international humanitarian law, corresponds to the specific conditions of a long-term occupation, with regard to fulfilling the objectives of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, or not. The first part anchors the law of occupation within the legal framework, i.e. within international humanitarian law, introduces the concept of occupation and long-term occupation and outlines the responsibilities of the occupation power under the law of occupation. One chapter focuses specifically on the role of international human rights law in the armed conflicts. The core of the thesis identifies the challenges the international law of occupation is currently facing. The assessment shows that the occupation law does not reflect the specific circumstances and conditions of a long-term occupation, especially with respect to the needs of occupied population, and does not...

Historically, women in conflict and post-conflict situations have on the basis of their status been subjected to harmful and discriminatory practices which run contrary to international, regional and domestic provisions guaranteeing various human rights including the rights to freedom from torture, cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment or punishment; discrimination; violence; privacy and autonomous decision making within the context of healthcare etc. Whereas recent years have seen an improvement in State responses globally, in Nigeria the experiences of women in conflict and post-conflict situations remain deplorable. Despite the ratification of various international and regional treaties in this regard, issues revolving around access to safe abortion remain problematic. They are also further complicated by questions of holistic adoption and implementation of ratified instruments in this regard. Consequently, though consensus has been achieved on paper, implementation remains a mirage particularly across the Middle Belt region and the Northeast which are grappling with farmer-herder conflict and insurgency by proscribed armed groups respectively. This mini-dissertation discusses in-depth the current framework for the protection of women’s reproductive health and rights related to access to abortion services in conflict and post-conflict situations in Nigeria in view of international and regional human rights obligations, highlighting the challenges and prospects and identifies key opportunities for consideration in the protection of these rights by municipal law. This research is relevant to legal, ethical and social discourses as well as issues of policy formulation and implementation related to reproductive health and rights protection in conflict and post-conflict situations within Nigeria. / Mini Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2021. / NRF / Centre for Human Rights / LLM / Unrestricted

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The international community has shied away from instituting safe havens in conflict zones since the fall of Srebreniça in 1995. However, a look at the roles of safe havens in genocidal violence provides a deeper understanding of the need for these spaces to be established in a timely fashion. The strategic use of cultural safe havens as places for mass violence, necessitates the establishment of international safe havens for the protection of the targeted population, yet an analysis of the relationship between cultural safe havens and international safe havens has not been done before. As such, this research seeks to shed light on the relationship between the use of cultural safe havens, their inherent danger in cases of genocide, and the need for better models for international safe havens in times of violence. It is the researcher’s argument that to achieve this, the very perception of safety must be reimagined. Using content analysis methodology in the form of case studies, along with historical sociology, this research analyzes accounts of genocidal campaigns – Armenia, Rwanda and Bosnia – to explain the relationship between the dangers of cultural safe havens and the subsequent need for international safe havens that are established in time to save the victimized populations.

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The thesis functions as an overview of the protection of children used in hostilities and their targetability under international law, primarly in international humanitarian law. The author questions the established presumption, that children directly participating in hostilities, shall be equally targetable as their adult colleges and counter parts. In times of conflicts, international humanitarian law offers children a special protection status. The prohibition against recruitment and use of children under the age of 15 illustrates two of the most relevant protective regimes. Despite these protective rules, children directly participating in hostilities remain lawful targets and their special protection status becomes severely less useful. For these reasons, the author argues, that the presumption of equal target ability hinders the Special protection of children to have the practical impact for children used on the battlefield it intened to.The tremendous amounts of child soldiers recruited by non-state armed groups shows that the prohibition against recruitment and use aren't respected. However, the author argues that the ICC juris prudence and national initiatives illustrate that the presumption of equal targetability can be challenged under international law. And, that the special protection for children in times of conflict, and international law as a whole does motivate differanting rules for targeting children versus adults participating in hostilities. For arguments presumably made on moral grounds, military personnel are willing to put themselves at greater risk to spare the life of a child soldiers forced to take part in a conflict, he or she definitely did not start. The Vancuver principles and the The Canadian Armed Forces Joint Doctrine Note shows that states are willing to follow in these footsteps by adding extra precautionary measures in the planning state of a military operation and to completely differentiate the rules for targeting children and adults. Lastly, the author argues that the rules for targeting cultural property ( set out in the 1954 Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property), could be an example on how to differentiate the rules for targeting children. In this regard the author argues that, like cultural property, children directly participating in hostilities should only be lawfully targeable, at last resort, when there is no other way to fulfill the military advantage.

This doctrinal thesis centers around the topic of voluntary human shields as a complex phenomenon requiring further scholarly attention. Specifically, this paper acknowledges that the actions of certain voluntary shields renders their classification as civilians strenuous, in which it is explored if the notion of Direct Participation in Hostilities might apply. As such, the research question contemplates: To what extent, if at all, can voluntary human shields be considered as taking a direct part in hostilities when shielding lawful targets?  The analyses have concentrated on both a theoretical examination of the ICRC’s Interpretive Guidance, and on an empirical investigation into two cases of voluntary human shields: the Serbian citizens in 1999 and the Palestinian women in 2006. Evidently, the findings indicate that voluntary human shields can to some extent take a direct part in hostilities, while the generalizability of our results are appreciated. Ultimately, this thesis provides additional insights into the topic, as increasingly relevant and required within the contradictory and existing research field, while also anticipating avenues for future research.

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In this essay I examine whether the CIA operatives can be considered as legitimate practitioners of violence in a conflict situation, thus looking through a lens where terrorism is treated as an act of war. This paper does not purport to evaluate and review the legality of targeted killing as a mean of warfare or a tool for criminal enforcement but rather the CIA agent’s status from an international law perspective, specifically humanitarian law. I further examine the role of CIA operatives from a moral perspective. Using the framework set up by Just War Theory I examine whether a CIA operative is regarded as a combatant or a civilian from a moral standpoint.

Within the fight against terrorism, conflicts may arise between the interest of the state to maximize the effectiveness of methods of combating terrorism and the international standard of human rights. One of the methods that some states carry out to combat terrorism is targeted killing. Legitimate effort of states to suppress terrorism and may not lead to violations of human rights. The thesis aims to answer the question: "Is targeted killing a permissible method of combating terrorism, in terms of the lex lata of human rights law, humanitarian law and rules for the use of force between states?" Regarding the methodology of the thesis I was inspired by the books: "Vědecká propedeutika pro právníky" by Viktor Knapp," Metodologie vědy" by František Ochrana and "Jak studovat politiku" by Peter Drulák. The thesis consists of four chapters. The objective of the first chapter is descriptive. The first chapter should clarify the terminology and content of key concepts. The content of the second chapter is an analysis of the legality of targeted killings under human rights law. The third chapter examines the conditions of legality of targeted killings in humanitarian law. Chapter Four deals with the admissibility of targeted killings in the light of law of interstate force. Through an analysis of...