Conference: The Boundaries of the Battlefield

On January 10-11, 2013, the T.M.C. Asser Instituut and the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism – The Hague will host a conference on "The Boundaries of the Battlefield: A Critical Look at the Legal Paradigms and Rules in Countering Terrorism." The program is here. Here's the idea:

The T.M.C. Asser Instituut and the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism – The Hague, in cooperation with the International Humanitarian and Criminal Law Platform, the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and the Municipality of The Hague, will host a symposium with the aim of discussing the contours of various approaches states take against non-state actors with the goal of countering terrorism. Specifically, the conference will address issues related to uses of force and how these may affect and define the geographic and temporal scope and limitations of the laws of armed conflict in relation to counterterrorism. Besides this main theme, which operates within the armed conflict paradigm, this conference will also discuss and assess the law-enforcement paradigm.

The two-day event will take place a little more than ten years after the first CIA drone strike in Yemen was carried out against an alleged Al-Qaeda operative suspected of being the mastermind behind the 2000 U.S.S. Cole Bombing. In the so-called “global war on terror,” this was the first of many drone strikes by the United States, one of the various counterterrorism strategies employed by the US in its fight against Al-Qaeda and associated forces. Ten years later, these strikes are still occurring as part of the US’ strategy in Afghanistan, Somalia, Yemen, Libya, Pakistan and beyond. Law enforcement mechanisms, such as intelligence gathering, arrest, detention and judicial proceedings have been employed by various states in order to combat terrorism as well.

With these facts in mind, questions about the scope of the pertinent legal framework arise.

Questions also arise about the sufficiency of the current international legal system for addressing counterterrorism strategies, both within and outside of armed conflict. International humanitarian law plays a large part of this regulatory framework and the law enforcement paradigm, encapsulating many principles of international human rights law, also occupies a substantial place in this regulation. However, the precise roles of these areas of law are becoming more and more fragmented as the international community searches for a comprehensive way to deal with cross-border terrorist threats. With the US response to the attacks of 9/11 and the employment of an armed conflict paradigm against Al-Qaeda, the Taliban and associated forces as the starting point, it is imperative to first clarify the boundaries of the battlefield and also to identify the way forward with constructing counterterrorism strategies that are compliant with international law and able to effectively address new threats. This symposium will be a large step forward in addressing this need.