![]() Even though armed conflict is governed by international humanitarian law as the lex specialis, as was discussed earlier in this Module, international human rights law is still relevant though the exact nature and extent of its application in an armed conflict situation is not entirely clear and can be contentious.Īnother crucial point is whether targeted killings can be used as a means of national self-defence. ![]() In terms of the key criteria, the principle of distinction must be adhered to, the target must be a combatant or "fighter" in the armed conflict, and their death must be necessary, otherwise the targeted killing will be unlawful. As a consequence, some States have sought to argue that certain of their counter-terrorism operations have occurred in an armed conflict situation in order to benefit from this lower threshold, even though the suggested existence of an armed conflict or notion such as a 'global war on terror' has been strongly contested by many in the international community. The threshold test for the use of lethal force in a situation of armed conflict is lower than the comparable one in a peacetime context once the level of violence has escalated to that necessary for it to be categorized as an armed conflict situation. That said these criteria differ in an armed conflict context compared to one of peacetime law enforcement. Even though the loss of life is an inherent aspect of armed conflict, the taking of a person's life should never be undertaken lightly or gratuitously, and strict threshold criteria must still be satisfied. Important issues that arise in this context include how the legality of targeted killings should be determined in a context where other very different factual elements apply. ![]() Killing in the context of an armed conflict is generally regarded differently (legally, politically, morally) compared to its occurrence in a peacetime scenario.
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