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International Criminal Justice & post conflict / Comment

International humanitarian law and possible models of intervention in Lebanon

17/07/2006 By Mariano Aguirre Ernst, Vidal Martín

The conflict in Lebanon is undermining a part of the State and seriously affecting civil society, which, at the start of the conflict, was already in a fragile long post-war situation.

This conflict is simultaneously linked to tensions in the Middle East, a region that will undergo great change following this crisis and the one in Gaza.

After two Israeli soldiers were captured and three more were killed by the military wing of Hezbollah – an Islamist group based in Lebanon – the Israeli State responded with a military attack against Lebanon on 12 July.

Hezbollah has presented a list of names to the Israeli authorities – people of different nationalities held in Israeli prisons -, demanding their release as a non-negotiable condition for a ceasefire.

At this stage, and following three weeks of reciprocal hostilities, Israel continues to advance into Lebanese territory and has started to set up a "security zone" in the South of the country, having declared that their intention is to destroy Hezbollah’s military infrastructure and to push their borders further northwards. The guerrilla continues to target territories in northern Israel.

The fighting continues whilst the international community is divided among those who prefer to give Israel time to achieve its objectives (the United States and the UK), those who put the blame on Israel (Iran), and those who criticise both Israel and Hezbollah and call for an immediate ceasefire (the UN and some European governments, including Spain), along with a series of passive States.

In this climate of violence, in which most arguments are military or political, the issue of IHL is key.

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Keywords

Conflict resolution Human rights Humanitarian aid Israel Lebanon Middle East Peacebuilding Refugees

Bio author: Mariano Aguirre Ernst

Mariano Aguirre has been Director of the Centro de Investigación para la Paz, in Madrid, and Coordinator of programmes on peace and conflicts at the Ford Foundation, in New York. Mariano Aguirre publishes articles in various media in Spain and internationally such as OpenDemocracy, Le monde diplomatique, El Correo, La Vanguardia, Maniere de voir, AlertNet, Enjeux Internationaux, Temas, El País, Política Exterior, Debate, BBC World Service, Radio Netherland, Radio Nacional de España, Radio France International, Mediterranean Politics and CNN Spain.

Bio author: Vidal Martín

Law Degree by the University of Valladolid and Università degli Studi di Padova (Italy). Vidal Martin previously worked at the Irish Centre for Human Rights, National University of Ireland, researching on Human Rights in post-conflict situations, Rule of Law, International Criminal Justice and Transitional Justice.