El uso de la fuerza contra el Estado Islámico en Irak y Siria: problemas de fundamentación jurídica

La campaña militar en curso contra el Estado Islámico en Irak y Siria suscita problemas sobre el posible ejercicio del derecho de legítima defensa frente a ataques de actores no estatales en otros Estados. El contenido de las normas internacionales en este ámbito es controvertido y la práctica estatal resulta ambigua y poco concluyente. El artículo analiza las bases jurídicas invocadas por los Estados para justificar sus operaciones militares contra el Estado Islámico. El consentimiento proporcionado por el gobierno de Irak, no existe en el caso de Siria, dejando el derecho de legítima defensa como única base posible. El amplio respaldo de los Estados al uso de la fuerza contra el Estado Islámico va unido a posturas confrontadas en cuanto a la necesidad de consentimiento del Estado territorial al uso de la fuerza sobre su territorio.Current military campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria raises the question of the admissibility of the right to use force in self-defence against attacks by non-State actors in other States. International law in this area remains controversial and State practice ambiguous and inconsistent. This article analyses the legal basis invoked by States to justify their military operations against ISIL. Consent provided by the Iraqi government is lacking in the case of Syria, leaving only self-defence as feasible legal basis. The broad support for the use of force against Islamic State sides with conflicting views regarding the need of territorial State consent to the use of force on its territory

The effects of revegetation in the natural environment and perception of the people linked to Camero Viejo (Iberian System)

During the 20th century, Euro-Mediterranean mountains underwent a process of marginalization, with high rates of emigration, land abandonment, reduction of livestock census and poor use of pasture and forest products. Marginalization, with the abandonment of most of the fields and pastures, encouraged secondary succession processes that favored the expansion of shrubs and forests. Simultaneously, the administration encouraged the reforestation of large areas for economic purposes (the increase of wood and paper pulp production) and environmental objectives (the regulation of floods and prevention of soil erosion and degra- dation). As a result of these changes, Mediterranean mountain landscapes have been simplified and homogenized, fragmentation has been reduced and many of their cultural values are being degraded, a trend that also involves the loss of local knowledge on sustainable land management. The expansion of vegetation shows other negative effects, including an increase of fire risk, a reduction in water availability, the concentration of sediment sources in ancient agricultural terraces (which maintain the most fertile and deepest soils), loss of biodiversity and problems for the economic sustainability of the mountain, due to pasture degradation, and the loss of an attractive landscape. On the other hand, we must take into account that the impacts of land use changes in mountain areas occur not only at a local scale, but also at regional and global scales, as mountain ecosystems provide a range of goods and services to the society. The aim of this study is to investigate the diversity of opinions that people linked to Camero Viejo (Iberian Range) present about the major environmental changes since the mid-twentieth century: (i) vegetation cover dynamics, (ii) soil erosion, (iii) water yield and quality, (iv) fire risk, and (v) changes in wildlife and landscape. This perception will be related to current changes, quantified from land cover and land uses maps, information taken in the administration, and literature of the study area. The final objective is to find out which social groups have a closer or unrealistic perception; in that way, decision-makers could obtain more information to develop and implement new public policies

El marco jurídico de las CMSP. Reflexiones a propósito de la experiencia en Irak

En los últimos quince años, funciones tradicionalmente desempeñadas por el Estado han ido siendo traspasadas a compañías militares y de seguridad privadas. Ciertos Estados y otro tipo de actores están recurriendo cada vez más a estas compañías en contextos de conflicto armado o en situaciones de reconstrucción postbélica. En Irak el fenómeno ha alcanzado unas dimensiones sin precedentes desde el inicio del proceso de externalización. El empleo de compañías militares y de seguridad privadas suscita numerosas cuestiones en lo relativo a su responsabilidad y control. Se afirma en ocasiones que hay un vacío legal en lo concerniente a las actuaciones de estas compañías. Sin embargo, existen normas tanto a nivel internacional como nacional: Derecho Internacional Humanitario, legislación iraquí y legislación de Estados Unidos resultan aplicables a este sector. Sin embargo, como demuestra el análisis del caso de Irak, los conceptos y la normativa vigentes son insuficientes para tratar el fenómeno. Es necesario emprender un proceso de adaptación de las normas para hacer frente a las nuevas realidades