Thu, 23

June, 2011 21:41:48

(HPCR Briefing: Beyond the attack on Bin Laden: Implications for Regulating Future Military Operations)

Program on Humanitarian Law and Policy Research at Harvard University (HPCR) hpcr@hsph.harvard.edu

Live Web Seminar | Beyond the attack on Bin Laden: Implications for Regulating Future Military Operations

The Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research at Harvard University (HPCR) hosted a Live Web Seminar which examined the far reaching implications of the raid by U.S. Special Forces that killed Osama Bin Laden. This event focused specifically on the legal issues that arise in situations where a decision is made to target individuals- potentially outside the immediate theater of hostilities- using military force.

HPCR Associate Director Naz Modirzadeh moderated the discussion with HPCR Program Associate Dustin Lewis. Ms. Modirzadeh and Mr. Lewis were joined remotely by Vijay Padmanabhan of Cardoza Law School, Shuja Nawaz of the South Asia Center at The Atlantic Council, Mary Ellen O’Connell of Notre Dame Law School, and Michael Schmitt of Durham Law School.

Executive Summary

Website

Shuja Nawaz

Director, South Asia Center at

The Atlantic Council

Website

Mary Ellen O’Connell

Notre Dame Law School

Website

Michael Schmitt

Chair, Public International Law

Durham Law School

Website

target al-Qaeda in Pakistan under self-defense provisions of the U.N. Charter. Professor Padmanabhan assessed the lawfulness of the attack on Osama Bin Laden, and concluded that it involved an appropriate military objective and that it comported with the principles of distinction and proportionality under international humanitarian law.

Mr. Shuja Nawaz, the Director of the South Asia Center at the The Atlantic Council, discussed the relationship between the U.S. and Pakistan as allies, and identified potential concerns arising out of military actions conducted by the U.S. in Pakistan. Mr. Nawaz examined each country’s dependence on one another, and suggested that the action against Bin Laden might spur further debate over what constitutes an "ungoverned area" of Pakistan and potential military consequences resulting therefrom.

Professor Mary Ellen O’Connell, the Robert and Marion Short Chair in Law at Notre Dame Law School, submitted that the U.S. declaration of a War on Terror does not comport with pre-9/11 counterterrorism policies, which were more aligned with law enforcement than a military approach. Professor O’Connell argued that this law-enforcement approach to terrorism is more in line with standards of international law, especially regarding the application and scope of the principles of proportionality and necessity. Professor O’Connell averred that it is neither legal nor effective to continue in these circumstances to use the law of armed conflict in the place of law-enforcement strategies.

Professor Michael Schmitt, the Chair in Public International Law at Durham Law School, stated that the armed conflict against al-Qaeda qualifies as a non-international armed conflict (NIAC), and that in a NIAC, hostilities may "spillover" into other territories, providing as an example the armed conflict between the U.S. and al-Qaeda where hostilities "spilled over" from Afghanistan into Pakistan. Professor Schmitt averred that because Pakistan demonstrated it was unable (or unwilling) to sufficiently address the spillover of hostilities, the U.S. was legally justified in conducting the attack on Bin Laden in Pakistan. Professor Schmitt also submitted that the U.S. met its legal obligation to take adequate precautions to minimize harm to civilians.

Event Recording

Audio-only, downloadable, mp3 recording from iTunes

Padmanabhan (7:54)

Nawaz (25:37)

O’Connell (37:07)

Schmitt (51:45)

Full-screen, streaming recording with Powerpoint presentation

Padmanabhan (7:08)

Nawaz (24:54)

O’Connell (36:24)

Schmitt (50:54)

Background Materials

Ashley Deeks, "Pakistan’s Sovereignty and the Killing of Osama Bin Laden," ASIL Insights, Vol. 15, Issue 11, May 5, 2011.

Kevin Jon Heller, "Quick Thoughts on UBL’s Killings – and a Response to Lewis," Opinio Juris Blog, May 4, 2011.

Raffi Khatchadourian, "Bin Laden: The Rules of Engagement," The New Yorker Blog, May 4, 2011.

Harold Hongju Koh, "The Lawfulness of the U.S. Operation Against Osama Bin Laden," Opinio Juris Blog, May 19, 2011.

Marty Lederman, "The U.S. Perspective on the Legal Basis for the bin Laden Operation," Opinio Juris Blog, May 24, 2011.

Michael W. Lewis, "The Boundaries of the Battlefield," EJIL: Talk! Blog, May 25, 2011.

Marko Milanovic, "Was the Killing of Osama bin Laden Lawful?," EJIL: Talk! Blog, May 2, 2011.

Marko Milanovic, "When to Kill and When to Capture?," EJIL: Talk! Blog, May 6, 2011.

Mary Ellen O’Connell, "The bin Laden aftermath: Abbottabad and international law," Foreign Policy Blog, May 4, 2011.

Mary Ellen O’Connell, "The death of bin Laden as a turning point," Opinio Juris Blog, May 3, 2011.

John Rollins, "Osama bin Laden’s Death: Implications and Considerations," Congressional Research Service Reports, May 5, 2011.

Arabella Thorp, "Killing Osama bin Laden: has justice been done?," Standard Note No. SN/IA/5967, International Affairs and Defence Section, Library of the House of Commons, May 16, 2011.

About the HPCR Live Seminar Series

The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland

The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency

Produced by:

Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research Harvard University

1033 Massachusetts Avenue, 4th Floor

Cambridge, MA 02138, USA

This email was sent to kunabalasingam12@yahoo.co.uk by hpcr@hsph.harvard.edu |

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