War, Conflict and Human Rights: Theory and Practice

298 Pages·2017·4.421 MB·English

by  Chandra Lekha Sriram, Olga Martin-Ortega, Johanna Herman

Praise for previous editions of this book:
‘What makes this book such a superb teaching tool? The text begins by providing separate
background chapters on human rights and conflict studies. This makes the case studies and
topical chapters completely accessible for a wide range of students. Clearly written and
completely up-to-date, War, Conflict and Human Rights will undoubtedly find itself on the
mandatory reading list of many syllabi.’
—Julie Mertus, American University, USA
‘In War, Conflict and Human Rights, Sriram, Martin-Ortega and Herman have tackled the
most perplexing issues of humanitarian protection and conflict resolution, clarified the hard
choices and explored their implications in probing case studies. They demonstrate that the
tools now available to promote human rights, though far from adequate, can make a positive
difference when they are mobilized vigorously and authentically, respecting both shared
rights and legitimate differences.’
—Michael Doyle, Columbia University, USA
‘This indispensable volume, useful for both teaching and research, navigates a path around
the pitfalls inherent in the age-old conceptual struggle between peace and justice. In doing
so it details a sophisticated agenda for conflict resolution and peacebuilding, through inter-
national humanitarian and human rights law, for the ultimate goal of conflict prevention.’
—Oliver Richmond, University of Manchester, UK

War, Conflict and Human Rights
War, Conflict and Human Rights is an innovative inter-disciplinary textbook, combining
aspects of law, politics and conflict analysis to examine the relationship between human
rights and armed conflict.
This third edition has been fully revised and updated, and contains a completely new
chapter on business, conflict, and human rights. Making use of both theoretical and practical
approaches, the authors:
• examine the tensions and complementarities between protection of human rights and
resolution of conflict – the competing political demands and the challenges posed by
internal armed conflict and the increasing role of nonstate actors, including corpora-
tions, in armed conflicts;
• explore the scope and effects of human rights violations in contemporary armed con-
flicts, such as in Sierra Leone, Sudan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo
and the former Yugoslavia;
• assess the legal and institutional accountability mechanisms developed in the wake of
armed conflict to punish violations of human rights law and international humanitarian
law such as the ad hoc tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, hybrid or inter-
nationalized tribunals and the International Criminal Court;
• discuss continuing and emergent global trends and challenges in the fields of human
rights and conflict analysis.
This volume will be essential reading for students of war and conflict studies, human rights
and international humanitarian law, and is highly recommended for students of conflict reso-
lution, peacebuilding, international security, transitional justice and international relations
generally.
Chandra Lekha Sriram is Professor of International Law and International Relations and
Director of the Centre on Human Rights in Conflict at the University of East London, UK.
Olga Martin-Ortega is Reader in Public International Law at the University of
Greenwich, UK.
Johanna Herman is Senior Research Fellow at the Centre on Human Rights in Conflict at
the University of East London, UK.

War, Conflict and Human Rights
Theory and Practice
Third Edition
Chandra Lekha Sriram,
Olga Martin-Ortega, and
Johanna Herman
First published 2009
by Routledge
This edition published 2018
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2018 Chandra Lekha Sriram, Olga Martin-Ortega, and Johanna Herman
The right of Chandra Lekha Sriram, Olga Martin-Ortega, and Johanna Herman to
be identified as author of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with
sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in
any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to
infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN: 978-1-138-23428-4 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-23429-1 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-27752-3 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Contents
Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xii
About the authors xiii
Glossary xiv
How to use this book xix
PART I
War and human rights: critical issues 1
1 The interplay between war and human rights 3
2 Conflict: fundamentals and debates 15
3 Human rights: history and debates 34
4 Humanitarian and human rights law in armed conflict 54
5 Nonstate actors and international humanitarian and international
human rights law 70
6 Business, conflict, and human rights 80
PART II
Contemporary conflict: critical cases 95
7 The Former Yugoslavia 97
8 Sierra Leone 114
9 The Democratic Republic of Congo 131
10 Sudan and South Sudan 153
viii Contents
PART III
Building peace and seeking accountability: recent mechanisms
and institutions 177
11 Ad hoc tribunals 179
12 Enforcing human rights transnationally 201
13 Hybrid tribunals 218
14 The International Criminal Court 241
15 Enduring and emergent challenges and opportunities 259
Index 269
Illustrations
Maps
7.1 Former Yugoslavia, 1991 98
8.1 Sierra Leone 115
9.1 Democratic Republic of Congo, 1997–2015 132
10.1 Sudan and South Sudan 155
Boxes
1.1 Conflict and human rights in practice: Northern Ireland, Kosovo,
and Sierra Leone 5
1.2 UN mediation and amnesties 8
1.3 The relationship between conflict and human rights 9
1.4 Advocating human rights and conflict resolution: potential tension 9
1.5 Key international legal documents 10
1.6 Legal accountability institutions and responses 12
1.7 Transitional justice and rule of law promotion 12
2.1 The so-called “Arab Spring” 17
2.2 The 2007 Kenyan post-election violence 20
2.3 UN bodies and agencies involved in conflict prevention 22
2.4 Do no harm 24
2.5 The Geneva peace negotiations (Syrian conflict) 27
2.6 Current UN peacekeeping operations directed by DPKO 29
2.7 Peacebuilding Commission purposes 31
3.1 The difference between natural law and the liberal conception of rights 37
3.2 A world without human rights? 38
3.3 Human rights as politics and idolatry 39
3.4 The development of human rights 41
3.5 The rights of the homeless 43
3.6 Emerging solidarist rights 45
3.7 The UN Declaration on the Right to Peace 45
3.8 Selected principles from the Bangkok Declaration 47
3.9 Conceptions of cultural relativism 48
3.10 Intersectional feminism 50
4.1 Core human rights treaties and treaty monitoring bodies 55