International Human Rights: war, conflict and the responsibility to protect

War is depressingly constant throughout human history, and in the modern era, civilians frequently find themselves in the front line. This course charts the evolution of legal attempts from the 19th century to limit war’s excesses up to the current debate about whether, when and how States may intervene to protect human rights.  

War is depressingly constant throughout human history, and in the modern era, civilians frequently find themselves in the front line in today’s “wars amongst the people”, in Somalia, former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Sudan/South Sudan and Syria since the end of the Cold War. Next year marks the 20th anniversary of 9/11 and as we approach the 20th anniversary of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, questions around the role of law in regulating conflict - or indeed whether this is even a meaningful concept - lie at the heart of international relations policy.

Building on millennia of international custom, this seminar will chart the evolution of legal attempts from the mid-19th century to the present to limit war’s excesses, and to reduce unnecessary suffering. We will look closely at the catalytic effect of the Second World War on the international legal order covering armed conflict and genocide, the resurgent role of international justice in the post-Cold War era, before moving onto to the current debate about whether, when and how States may intervene to protect human rights. Can the UN Security Council be bypassed via ‘Responsibility to Protect’? If so, when and how? What does a would-be intervener need to demonstrate in order to do so?

Learning outcomes

The learning outcomes for this course are:

• The ability to chart the development of law of armed conflict since 1850 and demonstrate the impact that this has had on conduct of hostilities
• The limits and the successes of the attempt since 1945 to limit States’ recourse to force to solve international disputes
• Use of force in future, especially outside of the authority of the UN Security Council, in order to defend human rights

Classes

1. Introduction: The UN Charter and the use of force post-Second World War
2. Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC) I: Regulating war: ancient history to the First World War
3. Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC) II: the Second World War, the Geneva Conventions, the Genocide Convention and the Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions
4. International justice: International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), the internationalised courts and the International Criminal Court
5. Aggression, Responsibility To Protect (R2P) and post-Cold War liberal interventionism. The range of possible worlds to and beyond 2030 

Required reading

Gray, C D, (2018) International Law and the Use of Force (4th Edition), Oxford University Press, Oxford. Chapters 2, 3, 6, 7. ISBN 978-0198808428 (This is the most recent edition of Christine Gray’s excellent book. Whilst the historic elements are well covered in earlier editions, the current edition covers the ICJ’s Uganda decision, and the conflicts in Darfur and Libya, as well as R2P.)  

United Nations, (1945), Charter of the United Nations and Statute of the International Court of Justice, available from https://www.un.org/en/about-us/un-charter/ Please be familiar with the Preamble, Art 2(4), Art 2(7), Art 24, Art 25, Art 39, Art 41, Art 42, Art 51. (It is really important to read the UN Charter as a document, because not only does it define the law, you can see the way in which the various elements of the Charter fit together.)  

UN General Assembly Resolutions  

United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) 2005 World Summit Outcome (2005) UN Doc A/Res/60/1 paragraphs 138–40, available from: A/RES/60/1 2005 World Summit Outcome (un.org)

Typical week: Monday to Friday

For each week of study you select a morning (Am) and an afternoon (Pm) course, each course has five sessions, one each day Monday to Friday. The maximum class size is 25 students. Your weekly courses are complemented by a series of two daily plenary lectures, exploring new ideas in a wide range of disciplines. To add to the learning experience, we are also planning additional evening talks and events.

Evaluation and Academic Credit 

If you are seeking to enhance your own study experience, or earn academic credit from your Cambridge Summer Programme studies at your home institution, you can submit written work for assessment for one or more of your courses. 

Essay questions are set and assessed against the University of Cambridge standard by your Course Director, a list of essay questions can be found in the Course Materials. Essays are submitted two weeks after the end of each course, so those studying for multiple weeks need to plan their time accordingly. There is an evaluation fee of £65 per essay.

For more information about writing essays see Evaluation and Academic Credit.

Certificate of attendance

A certificate of attendance will be sent to you electronically within a week of your courses finishing.