The Law of Military Occupation

Completed in December 2008

This research project looked at the protection of civilian populations subject to the control of a foreign army by analyzing the link between the international law of military occupation and human rights.

While adopting a global approach to military occupation, the project focused more specifically on the nature and evolution of the regimes implemented in Afghanistan and Iraq. It identified uncertain areas of, or even loopholes in, the applicable law and proposed an update of an old legal regime that dates back mainly to 1907 and 1949.

Research Team

This research project was carried out by Robert Kolb and Silvain Vité.

OUTPUT

MORE ON THIS THEMATIC AREA

A street in Guayaquil News

Is There a Non-International Armed Conflict in Ecuador?

2 February 2024

Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa started the new year by declaring that there is an ‘internal armed conflict’ against a series of criminal groups operating in the country. Our Research Fellow Dr Eugénie Duss, in charge of RULAC, answers our questions about whether the situation in Ecuador amounts to a non-international armed conflict.

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Screen shot of the blog News

Newly Graduated LLM Alumnus Publishes a Condensed Version of his LLM Paper in Prominent Blog

14 November 2023

Our LLM alumnus Ioannis Bamnios – who graduated in October – published the main and very innovative argument of his LLM paper on the ‘conduct of hostilities in occupied territories’ in the leading blog Articles of War of the US Military Academy at West Point.

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Burning oil fields in Kuwait Event

The Prosecution of Ecocide and Other Environmental Crimes: State of the Law and Way(s) Forward

11 April 2024, 12:30-14:00

This IHL Talk will explore various issues related to the prosecution of ecocide and other environmental crimes.

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Event

Launch – International Humanitarian Law Rules, Controversies, and Solutions to Problems Arising in Warfare, 2nd Edition

9 April 2024, 12:30-14:00

In this launch event, key experts will comment and dialogue with Professor Sassòli on specific aspects of the book, including naval warfare and the law of neutrality, sources of IHL, IHL and human rights, as well as the classification of armed conflict

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Afghanistan, Parwan detention facility. Inside a room where detainees of the prison, separated by an acrylic glass, are allowed to meet with their families a couple of times per year with the help of the ICRC employees who facilitate the programme. Short Course

Preventing and Combating Terrorism

25 April - 17 May 2024

This online short course discusses the extent to which states may limit and/or derogate from their international human rights obligations in order to prevent and counter-terrorism and thus protect persons under their jurisdiction.

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Iraq, Mosul. View of the west bank after the war. Project

IHL in Focus

Started in January 2024

As a yearly publication, it keeps decision-makers, practitioners and scholars up-to-date with the latest trends and challenges in IHL implementation in over 100 armed conflicts worldwide – both international and non-international.

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A destroyed camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Khor Abeche, South Darfur, Project

Understanding the Relationship between Conflict, Security and the Human Right to a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment

Started in May 2023

This project will develop guidance to inform security, human rights and environmental debates on the linkages between environmental rights and conflict, and how their better management can serve as a tool in conflict prevention, resilience and early warning.

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Cover Page of Research Brief Publication

Environmental Human Rights as a Tool in Early Warning and Conflict Prevention The Role of the Human Rights Council

published on January 2024

Erica Harper, Baïna Ubushieva

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Cover page of the publication Publication

Delivering the Right to Peace: Towards a Reinforced Role of the Human Rights Council in the UN's Peace and Security Framework

published on October 2023

Erica Harper, Adam Day

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