
Contents
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I. Introduction I. Introduction
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II. The Evolution, Composition, and Practice of UN Investigative Mechanisms II. The Evolution, Composition, and Practice of UN Investigative Mechanisms
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A. Composition A. Composition
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B. Investigations and Standards of Proof B. Investigations and Standards of Proof
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C. Collection, Consolidation, and Preservation C. Collection, Consolidation, and Preservation
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1. Accountability and “Preservation-Accountability” Mandates 1. Accountability and “Preservation-Accountability” Mandates
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III. The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic III. The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic
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A. Siege Warfare: Forced Displacement as a War Crime A. Siege Warfare: Forced Displacement as a War Crime
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B. Battlefield Detention: Displacement Camps and Unlawful Internment B. Battlefield Detention: Displacement Camps and Unlawful Internment
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IV. The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan IV. The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan
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A. Starvation as a Method of Warfare A. Starvation as a Method of Warfare
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V. HRC Investigative Mechanisms and Pathways to Accountability V. HRC Investigative Mechanisms and Pathways to Accountability
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VI. Conclusion VI. Conclusion
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11 Applying and Interpreting the Law of Armed Conflict: Contributions by the UN Commissions on the Syrian Arab Republic and the Republic of South Sudan
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Published:May 2024
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Abstract
Over the past twenty-two years, the United Nations has relied on a series of mandated mechanisms to investigate and respond to periods of uprising, conflict, and post-conflict contexts (“atrocity inquiries”). These mechanisms regularly consider questions of law, including by publicly applying and interpreting the law of armed conflict (LOAC). Sometimes they are the first international bodies to consider certain issues. The Syria Commission of Inquiry, for example, was the first UN-mandated mechanism to consider (1) the forced displacement of unsympathetic populations as a warring strategy after prolonged siege warfare; and (2) unlawful internment through battlefield detention perpetrated by a non-State armed group under the guise of camps for internally displaced persons. Similarly, the South Sudan Commission was the first mechanism to dedicate a comprehensive report to starvation as a method of warfare in the context of a non-international armed conflict. Beyond simply applying and interpreting the LOAC publicly, when UN Human Rights Council mechanisms share their underlying information with courts in particular, the information “shows their work” and can serve as a rubric for how the mechanism had viewed the elements of crimes and therefore how it viewed the application of the LOAC. Upon receiving this underlying information and evidence, especially the interviews conducted, judicial verdicts may later be reached relying on them. Through judicial decisions and their status as subsidiary means for the determination of rules of law, it is by sharing their underlying work that atrocity inquires have the more concrete potential to shape and influence the LOAC.
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