Conflict without casualties… a note of caution: non-lethal weapons and international humanitarian law

Go to the author page Eve Massingham

This article is also available in

In the last decade considerable expense has been invested in non-lethal weapons development programmes, including by the United States military and other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and members of the European Working Group Non-Lethal Weapons. This paper acknowledges the potential suitability of non-lethal weapons for specific situations arising on the battlefield, but cautions against those who advocate for any weakening of existing international humanitarian law frameworks to provide for greater employment of non-lethal technologies. Key words: non-lethal weapons, distinction, proportionality, precaution.

Continue reading #IRRC No. 886

Conflict without casualties… a note of caution: non-lethal weapons and international humanitarian law author: Eve Massingham

4 min read

On banning autonomous weapon systems: human rights, automation, and the dehumanization of lethal decision-making author: Peter Asaro

9 min read

Beyond the Call of Duty: why shouldn’t videogame players face the same dilemmas as real soldiers? author: Ben Clarke, Christian Rouffaer, François Sénéchaud

11 min read

Documenting violations of international humanitarian law from space: a critical review of geospatial analysis of satellite imagery during armed conflicts in Gaza (2009), Georgia (2008) and Sri Lanka (2009) author: Joshua Lyons

7 min read

The role of civil society in the development of standards around new weapons and other technologies of warfare author: Brian Rappert, Anna Crowe, Richard Moyes, Thomas Nash

8 min read

The evitability of autonomous robot warfare author: Noel E. Sharkey

4 min read

A Chinese perspective on cyber war author: Li Zhang

2 min read

International Humanitarian Law and New Weapon Technologies, 34th Round Table on current issues of international humanitarian law, San Remo, 8–10 September 2011 author: Jakob Kellenberger, Philip Spoerri

3 min read

‘Excessive’ ambiguity: analysing and refining the proportionality standard author: Jason D. Wright

12 min read

Book Review - The law of armed conflict: an operational approach author: Jamie A. Williamson

1 min read

New publications in humanitarian action and the law (Summer 2012) author:

4 min read

Go back to the first article

More from Eve Massingham

article IRRC No. 924 Dec 2023

War in cities: Why the protection of the natural environment matters even when fighting in urban areas, and what can be done to ensure protection author: Eve Massingham, Elina Almila, Mathilde Piret

69 min read

article IRRC No. 876 Dec 2009

Military intervention for humanitarian purposes: does the Responsibility to Protect doctrine advance the legality of the use of force for humanitarian ends? author: Eve Massingham

10 min read