Voluntary Human Shields in International Humanitarian Law: A Proposal for Suitable Future Regulation

by | Oct 1, 2019 | AYIH, AYIH 2016

Voluntary Human Shields in International Humanitarian Law: A Proposal for Suitable Future Regulation

Authors Marco Nel, Shannon Bosch

ISSN: 2521-2621
Affiliations: None; Attorney of the High Court of South Africa, Associate Professor in Law University of KwaZulu-Natal
Source: African Yearbook on International Humanitarian Law, 2016, p. 46 – 64

Abstract

The growing prevalence of voluntary human shields in recent asymmetric armed conflicts has exposed a significant lacuna in the existing international humanitarian law regime, which requires urgent regulation. In this article, we explore some of the challenges that any attempt at regulation must address, including assessing voluntariness and issues of capacity, limitations against direct participation in hostilities, the prohibition against shielding legitimate military targets, state responsibility, uniformity and concordance with existing international humanitarian law, and limiting targeting decisions motivated by reciprocity. We conclude with a proposal for the form and content of future regulation.

The Problem of Civil Contractors that Directly Participate in Hostilities

by | Oct 1, 2019 | AYIH, AYIH 2016

The Problem of Civil Contractors that Directly Participate in Hostilities

Authors Wyne Ken Mutuma

ISSN: 2521-2621
Affiliations: Lecturer (University of Nairobi), Advocate of the High Court of Kenya, Certified Public Secretary (Institute of Certified Public Secretaries, Kenya)
Source: African Yearbook on International Humanitarian Law, 2016, p. 8 – 45

Abstract

The past two decades have witnessed the emergence and rapid growth of private military and security contractors (PMSCs). Today these corporate entities make up a global security industry whose value is over US$100 billion. Their rapid rise has sparked enormous interest regarding the nature of the services they carry out on the battlefield — including services that constitute direct participation in hostilities — and whether the present legal regime governing armed conflict foresees, and adequately caters for, this peculiarity. International humanitarian law classifies all actors operating in armed conflicts as either combatants or civilians, conferring rights and obligations upon them on the basis of where it is that they fall in this divide. This article is of the view that the majority of PMSC personnel will be considered as civilians, a contradiction in view of the reality of their activities, and proceeds to highlight the potential consequences and challenges that arise from their present classification.