If international law is meant to protect civilians equally, why does its enforcement often appear uneven? This Dispatch examines Gaza and Lebanon through the principles of international humanitarian law, civilian protection, and accountability, exploring how perceptions of selective enforcement affect the credibility of the international legal system.
Category: Dispatches
Beyond ‘Never Again’: Understanding Atrocity Prevention and Why It Matters
The greatest success of atrocity prevention is often invisible. It is measured not by the crises that occur, but by the tragedies that never happen.”
Cuba’s Humanitarian Crisis: Infrastructure Collapse, Public Health Strain, and Civilian Vulnerability
Humanitarian crises rarely emerge from a single shock. In Cuba, economic deterioration, infrastructure failure, and repeated disasters are compounding into a prolonged crisis of civilian resilience.”
Civilian Protection Under Occupation: Legal Fragmentation and Enforcement in the West Bank
The challenge in the West Bank is not the absence of legal protections under international law, but the persistent gap between formal protections and consistent enforcement.”
Governance, Armed Conflict, and Civilian Protection in Yemen
When armed groups govern territory, civilian protection depends not only on the conduct of war, but on the conduct of governance.”
Civilian Protection in Gaza: Armed Actors, Urban Warfare, and Legal Constraints
When legal protections exist without consistent enforcement, civilian protection becomes conditional—and civilians bear the cost.”
When Armed Groups Govern: Civilian Protection and Policy Constraints in Lebanon, Gaza, and Yemen
Where armed groups function as governing authorities, civilian protection is shaped not only by conflict dynamics, but by the structure of power itself.”
Lebanon on the Edge: Escalation and Civilian Risk in a Regional Conflict
Escalation across borders does not remain contained—it expands the geography of civilian risk.”
Sudan’s War and the Collapse of Civilian Protection: Escalating Atrocity Risks Amid State Fragmentation
The erosion of centralized authority in Sudan has created conditions in which civilian protection is no longer incidental to the conflict—it is structurally absent.”
From Nuclear Diplomacy to Armed Conflict: The Collapse of the Iran Deal and the Legal Path to War
The collapse of the Iran nuclear deal marks the moment when a legal framework for containment gave way to a strategic pathway toward war.”