International Human Rights Law and the Law of Armed Conflict in the Context of ...

558 Pages·2013·5.87 MB·English

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In the past decade, few topics have attracted more attention among international lawyers m
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than the interplay between international human rights law (IHRL) and the law of armed conflict a
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(LOAC). At the same time, the multiple – often multinational and extraterritorial – u

military operations in response to the ‘new threats’ to (inter)national security posed by nR
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non-State actors have incited a debate among security experts on how to counter eg
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insurgencies. This study ties these legal and security debates together, and in doing so i
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focuses specifically on two traditional, but controversial kinds of military power, namely ss
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targeting and operational detention. Counterinsurgency doctrine recognizes both as
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indispensible instruments to defeat an insurgency. At the same time, they are seen as gw
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strategic hazards that are to be applied with consideration and care for fundamental n
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counterinsurgency principles. To end today’s ‘wars amongst the people’, such as those in cn
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Iraq and Afghanistan, counterinsurgent States have come to realize that it is in their

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strategic interest to ensure that the conduct of their troops remains within the boundaries h
of the applicable law. However, especially targeting and operational detention raise e

controversial issues in IHRL and LOAC as well as their interplay, which is even more L
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complicated by the specific characteristics of modern-day insurgencies. w

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This study aims to contribute to the development of the legal theory on the interplay of f With a Particular Focus on

IHRL and LOAC, and to value the operational consequences of this interplay on A
targeting and operational detention in counterinsurgency. As such, the study not only r Targeting and Operational Detention
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intends to serve an academic, but also a military-operational purpose.
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Among the issues covered in this study are the concepts of insurgency and counter- C
insurgency; the conceptual underpinnings of IHRL and LOAC; the ‘humanization’ of o
armed conflict; the international law on the interplay of norms in general and the maxim n
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of lex specialis derogat legi generali in particular. Other topics include the applicability of
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IHRL and LOAC in counterinsurgency operations; and the regulation of targeting and t

operational detention under IHRL and LOAC, including controversial topics such as
the concept of direct participation in hostilities, the existence of a requirement of ‘least
harmful means’ in the concept of military necessity, and the requirements pertaining to
security detention in non-international armed conflicts. E
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International Human Rights Law and the
Law of Armed Conflict in the Context of
Counterinsurgency
With a Particular Focus on Targeting and Operational Detention

Eric Pouw

International Human Rights Law and the
Law of Armed Conflict in the Context of
Counterinsurgency
With a Particular Focus on Targeting and Operational Detention

ACADEMISCH PROEFSCHRIFT

ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor
aan de Universiteit van Amsterdam
op gezag van de Rector Magnificus
Prof. dr. D.C. van den Boom
ten overstaan van een door het college voor promoties ingestelde
commissie, in het openbaar te verdedigen in de Agnietenkapel
op donderdag 14 november 2013, te 10.00 uur

door

Eric Hendrik Pouw

geboren te Ermelo
Promotiecommissie

Promotor: Prof. dr. T.D. Gill

Overige leden: Prof. mr. P.A. Nollkaemper
Prof. dr. Y.M. Donders
Prof. dr. R. Geiß
Prof. dr. F.P.B. Osinga
Dr. J. K. Kleffner

Faculteit der Rechtsgeleerdheid

iv
©2013 text E.H. Pouw

Design text: Eric Pouw
Design cover: Eric Pouw & Esther Winnubst
Image: ‗Australian and Dutch soldiers conduct patrols in preparation to hand over the
Patrol Base Qudus which was build by the Reconstruction Task Force in Baluchi‘,
Afghanistan (1 August 2008),
<www.defence.gov.au/opEx/global/opslipper/images/gallery/2008/1002/20080731adf82
39682_209.jpg>. This image is used with permission from the Australian Defence Force.

The Royal Netherlands Army, the Army Legal Service and the Netherlands Defence
Academy have made this research and this manuscript factually and financially possible.
The views and opinions in this dissertation are and remain solely the responsibility of the
author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Minister of Defense.
Permission of the author is required for distribution or any use of this dissertation.

Vormgeving tekst: Eric Pouw
Omslag ontwerp: Eric Pouw & Esther Winnubst
Foto: ‗Australian and Dutch soldiers conduct patrols in preparation to hand over the Patrol
Base Qudus which was build by the Reconstruction Task Force in Baluchi‘, Afghanistan
(1 August 2008),
<www.defence.gov.au/opEx/global/opslipper/images/gallery/2008/1002/20080731adf82
39682_209.jpg>Deze foto is overgenomen met toestemming van de Australian Defence
Force.

Dit onderzoek en deze publicatie zijn feitelijk en financieel mogelijk gemaakt door de
Koninklijke Landmacht, de Militair Juridische Dienst Krijgsmacht en de Nederlandse
Defensie Academie.
De meningen en opvattingen die in deze dissertatie worden uitgesproken zijn en blijven
voor de verantwoordelijkheid van de desbetreffende auteur. Zij geven niet noodzakelijk de
mening van de Minister van Defensie weer.
Voor verspreiding of elk gebruik van deze dissertatie is toestemming van de auteur vereist.

v

Table of Contents – Summary
Table of Contents – Summary ............................................................................................... vii
Table of Contents .................................................................................................................... ix
List of Abbreviations ............................................................................................................ xvii

Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 1

Part A. Context and Conceptual Framework for Analysis ..................................................... 27
Chapter I Strategic and Military Context ........................................................................................... 29
Chapter II The Legal Context ............................................................................................................... 47
Chapter III Conceptual Framework for Analysis on the Interplay of Norms of IHRL and
LOAC .................................................................................................................................. 129
Conclusions Part A ...................................................................................................................................... 141

Part B. Interplay Potential .................................................................................................... 143
Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 145
Chapter IV IHRL ................................................................................................................................... 147
Chapter V LOAC .................................................................................................................................. 185
Conclusions Part B. ...................................................................................................................................... 229

Part C. Interplay Appreciation .............................................................................................. 231

Part C.1. Targeting ................................................................................................................ 231
Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 235
Chapter VI IHRL ................................................................................................................................... 237
Chapter VII LOAC .................................................................................................................................. 255
Chapter VIII Interplay .............................................................................................................................. 331
Conclusions Part C.1. .................................................................................................................................. 357

Part C.2. Operational Detention ........................................................................................... 363
Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 365
Chapter IX IHRL ................................................................................................................................... 367
Chapter X LOAC .................................................................................................................................. 385
Chapter XI Interplay .............................................................................................................................. 415
Conclusions Part C.2. .................................................................................................................................. 435

Part D. Synthesis and Conclusions ....................................................................................... 437
Chapter XII Synthesis and Conclusions ............................................................................................... 439

Abstract ........................................................................................................................ 461
Samenvatting ........................................................................................................................ 475

Table of Treaties ................................................................................................................... 489
Case-Law ........................................................................................................................ 491
Other Materials ..................................................................................................................... 501
Bibliography ........................................................................................................................ 507
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