The body of international law that regulates the conduct of armed conflict and seeks to limit its effects. It comprises the Geneva Conventions, their Additional Protocols, the Hague Conventions, and customary rules governing the protection of civilians, prisoners of war, and the wounded.
An executive order stripped human rights safeguards from the US arms transfer framework, replacing decades of bipartisan policy with a commerce-first approach. The subsequent emergency bypass of …
Executive Order 14383, signed February 6, 2026, establishes the 'America First Arms Transfer Strategy,' which reorders US arms export …
The EO makes no mention of human rights, international humanitarian law, or civilian protection — a stark departure from all previous …
The US contracted with an Israeli state-owned arms manufacturer for banned cluster munitions at industrial scale, reversing decades of declining reliance on these weapons and funding an Israeli …
On September 30, 2025, the Pentagon awarded an indefinite delivery/quantity contract with a ceiling value of $829.1 million to Tomer, an …
The contract was awarded without public competition under a 'public interest' exception to federal contracting law, bypassing normal …
The US unilaterally struck a sovereign African nation for the first time, firing Tomahawk cruise missiles at Sokoto State. Locals disputed the ISIS narrative, unexploded ordnance fell in villages, and …
The US fired over a dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles from the USS Paul Ignatius in the Gulf of Guinea, striking at least 16 targets in Sokoto …
At least four missile warheads failed to explode and fell short of targets, landing in the villages of Offa, Zugurma, and Jabo, creating an …
A large-scale US retaliatory bombing campaign in Syria following the deaths of three Americans near Palmyra. The scale of the operation — hundreds of munitions across dozens of targets in populated …
On December 19, 2025, the US launched Operation Hawkeye Strike with over 100 munitions on 70+ ISIS targets across Syria, using A-10s, F-16s, …
The operation was retaliatory — responding to the December 13 Palmyra attack that killed two US soldiers (Sgt. Edgar Torres-Tovar and Sgt. …
The Trump administration reversed decades of bipartisan progress toward eliminating antipersonnel landmines by authorizing their global use and simultaneously dismantling the US humanitarian demining …
Defense Secretary Hegseth signed a memo on December 2, 2025, reversing the Biden-era policy that prohibited US use of antipersonnel …
The same memo rescinded the US Humanitarian Mine Program, a decades-long government initiative that had provided over $5 billion in …
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Updated March 26, 2026Foreign Policy & War
Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law ConcernOngoingReported record
The combined effect of freezing Afghanistan's sovereign assets and terminating all US humanitarian aid has created a catastrophic humanitarian crisis in which millions face starvation. UN officials …
The United States and European nations froze nearly $9.5 billion in Afghan central bank assets after the Taliban takeover in August 2021, …
In 2025, the Trump administration terminated all remaining US humanitarian aid to Afghanistan — $561.8 million — ordering an immediate …
US airstrikes on Yemen's most critical civilian port infrastructure killed 84+ civilians including three children, port workers, truck drivers, and civil defense personnel. HRW found the strikes were …
14 US airstrikes hit the Ras Issa oil terminal on April 17, 2025, killing at least 84 civilians and injuring over 150, including port …
Ras Issa is one of three ports in Hodeidah through which approximately 70% of Yemen's commercial imports and 80% of humanitarian assistance …
A 53-day US bombing campaign in Yemen produced an unprecedented civilian death toll, with monitoring organizations documenting at least 224 civilian deaths — matching the previous 23 years of US …
Operation Rough Rider ran from March 15 to May 6, 2025 — 53 days of sustained bombing against Houthi-controlled Yemen, with 339+ strikes …
Airwars documented 33 civilian harm incidents and at least 224 civilian deaths. The Yemen Data Project documented at least 238 civilian …
The reimposition of FTO status on the Houthis threatens to deepen what was already the world's worst humanitarian crisis by chilling aid delivery, disrupting commercial imports, and creating legal …
On March 4, 2025, the State Department redesignated Ansarallah (Houthis) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, carrying criminal penalties …
Biden had revoked the FTO designation in February 2021 specifically because of its humanitarian impact, stating it was 'due entirely to the …