Implementation of International Humanitarian Law in Future Wars

Any attempt to look into the future is fraught with difficulty and the likelhood that much of it will be wrong. If someone in 1898 had tried to foresee issues relating to the implementation of the laws and customs of war in the twentieth century, it is highly unlikely that he could have forseen many of the makor developements that these created

Effects of ocean sprawl on ecological connectivity: impacts and solutions

The growing number of artificial structures in estuarine, coastal and marine environments is causing “ocean sprawl”. Artificial structures do not only modify marine and coastal ecosystems at the sites of their placement, but may also produce larger-scale impacts through their alteration of ecological connectivity - the movement of organisms, materials and energy between habitat units within seascapes. Despite the growing awareness of the capacity of ocean sprawl to influence ecological connectivity, we lack a comprehensive understanding of how artificial structures modify ecological connectivity in near- and off-shore environments, and when and where their effects on connectivity are greatest. We review the mechanisms by which ocean sprawl may modify ecological connectivity, including trophic connectivity associated with the flow of nutrients and resources. We also review demonstrated, inferred and likely ecological impacts of such changes to connectivity, at scales from genes to ecosystems, and potential strategies of management for mitigating these effects. Ocean sprawl may alter connectivity by: (1) creating barriers to the movement of some organisms and resources - by adding physical barriers or by modifying and fragmenting habitats; (2) introducing new structural material that acts as a conduit for the movement of other organisms or resources across the landscape; and (3) altering trophic connectivity. Changes to connectivity may, in turn, influence the genetic structure and size of populations, the distribution of species, and community structure and ecological functioning. Two main approaches to the assessment of ecological connectivity have been taken: (1) measurement of structural connectivity - the configuration of the landscape and habitat patches and their dynamics; and (2) measurement of functional connectivity - the response of organisms or particles to the landscape. Our review reveals the paucity of studies directly addressing the effects of artificial structures on ecological connectivity in the marine environment, particularly at large spatial and temporal scales. With the ongoing development of estuarine and marine environments, there is a pressing need for additional studies that quantify the effects of ocean sprawl on ecological connectivity. Understanding the mechanisms by which structures modify connectivity is essential if marine spatial planning and eco-engineering are to be effectively utilised to minimise impacts

Unexpected challenges: the increasingly evident disadvantage of considering international humanitarian law in isolation [Keynote Address]

I have been invited to address any topic relating to emerging issues in international humanitarian law (IHL). When considering which subject to address, I decided to avoid a specific IHL topic, some of which are being addressed in depth during this symposium, but rather to take a step back and consider some of the more fundamental challenges that IHL is now facing. The most pressing challenge, in my opinion, is the trend of IHL being misused to justify killings which are of dubious legality under the law relating to the use of inter-State force. The purpose of IHL is supposed to be to prevent avoidable death and destruction, not the reverse. I am thinking here primarily of the rise in targeted killings abroad of non-State actors, on the basis that these are justified as attacks on fighters in a non-international armed conflict. Such attacks have been facilitated by the increased availability of armed drones. It needs to be remembered that any practice that is acquiesced in by the international community can then easily be undertaken by other countries against targets that they perceive as threats. Furthermore, this trend is straining further the two classical IHL categories, into which various activities, such as UN operations and mixed conflicts, do not easily fit. There needs to be a serious reconsideration of whether it is possible to speak of “rules of armed conflict” without first classifying the violence as international or non-international