If you are in the DC area on Monday, January 25, you might want to check out this event at ASIL Tillar House, 2:30-5:00 pm. This looks to be a terrific discussion with great people on the program, on a topic much under debate currently. The question of how far human rights law enters, if at all or in what ways, into the lex specialis of the laws of armed conflict obviously has strong implications for traditional armed conflict, the war on terror, targeted killing, and many other subjects. All the panelists are highly regarded, expert, and intellectually lively – a great group. “Mind the Gap: International Human Rights Law and the Law of Armed Conflict,” with Gabriella Blum and Geoffrey Corn as discussants, and Harvey Rishikof and Jamie Williamson as commentators. Event is free, but space is limited in Tillar House, so register with an email to Patty Davila at [email protected]. Brochure description, below the fold.
Professors Blum and Corn have both recently published provocative articles that stake out quite different positions over the legal uncertainties posed by the applicability of human rights standards to situations where the law of war is applied. To what extent are human rights standards applicable in armed conflicts and in how far is the jurisprudence of regional human rights courts pertinent? For example, does human rights law preclude combatants in war from killing each other’s soldiers, regardless of their role, function, or degree of threat? This is just one point on which the discussants are likely to disagree. It is a hot topic and will be a featured subject at several international and national law conferences in 2010.