Implementation and Accountability

How to ensure that international rules protecting the most vulnerable in times of war and peace are implemented and respected? Are the existing mechanisms to ensure monitoring and implementation working? Do they provide redress and accountability for the victims? What is lacking in today’s legal and policy framework and what are the challenges? 

Although different in substance and varying in terms of compliance mechanisms, all international law frameworks – international humanitarian law (IHL), international human rights law, international criminal law, transitional justice – raise challenges in terms of implementation and accountability.

The proliferation of international, regional and domestic human rights standards has led to a multitude of actors and procedures dedicated to their implementation. In turn, this has crowded existing regulatory regimes. For IHL on the other hand, dedicated monitoring mechanisms are rare and many are either not used or otherwise ineffective. International criminal law courts and tribunals provide partial solutions as they focus on individual criminal responsibility. Our research in this domain aims to accompany existing mechanisms and their stakeholders, ongoing policy discussions, negotiations, reforms and new developments in order to ensure the ongoing relevance of the international legal framework for the most vulnerable, along with accountability and redress for victims.

OUR PROJECTS

Past projects

RESEARCH

The Universality of Human Rights: Developing Narratives to Help Overcome Polarization

Completed in 2022

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RESEARCH

A Practitioners' Guide on Human Rights and Countering Corruption

Completed in 2021

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RESEARCH

Implementing International Humanitarian Law Through Human Rights Mechanisms

Completed in 2021

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RESEARCH

International Humanitarian Law and the United Nations Security Council

Completed in 2021

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RESEARCH

The Role of National Human Rights Systems in the Implementation of International Human Rights Standards and Recommendations

Completed in 2021

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RESEARCH

Disability and Armed Conflict

Completed in 2021

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RESEARCH

INVESTIGATING IN SITUATIONS OF ARMED CONFLICT: Law, Policy and Good Practice

Completed in 2019

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RESEARCH

Modes of Liability for International Crimes

Completed in 2019

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RESEARCH

The United Nations Principles to Combat Impunity: A Commentary

Completed in 2018

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Related News and Events

Panel panel ‘(Dis)respecting International Humanitarian Law in today’s armed conflicts: monitoring and reporting’ at the 2024 European Humanitarian Forum News

IHL in Focus Featured at the 2024 European Humanitarian Forum

25 March 2024

Our new research project IHL in Focus – launched at the beginning of the year – has been presented and discussed at the 2024 European Humanitarian Forum, a major yearly event convened by the European Union focusing on prominent humanitarian issues and challenges.

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Yemen,  Sana'a, Faj Attan. Damages to civilian buildings following the fighting. News

A Yearly Global Assessment of IHL Compliance

8 February 2024

We are excited to announce the launch of a new project consisting of the publication of a yearly global annual report assessing compliance with international humanitarian law in contemporary armed conflicts.

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A street in Guayaquil News

Is There a Non-International Armed Conflict in Ecuador?

2 February 2024

Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa started the new year by declaring that there is an ‘internal armed conflict’ against a series of criminal groups operating in the country. Our Research Fellow Dr Eugénie Duss, in charge of RULAC, answers our questions about whether the situation in Ecuador amounts to a non-international armed conflict.

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