A UN peacekeeper from Serbia died from wounds sustained when shelling hit his base near Marjayoun, Lebanon. Two other peacekeepers were injured. UNIFIL is investigating the attack, which follows several fatal incidents since the outbreak of the Iran war and renewed clashes between Hezbollah and Israel.
Former UK spy chief David Omand believes AI can create moral frameworks for autonomous drones, allowing them to distinguish combatants from civilians and comply with international law. He argues this is an operational inevitability due to modern warfare's speed, advocating for human "on the loop" oversight rather than "in the loop" control.
Ex-Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova stated Russia is the guardian of international humanitarian law. She discussed the transformation of Russia's human rights system, achievements over ten years, and efforts to establish dialogue with Ukraine on humanitarian issues, including prisoner exchanges and family reunification.
A cross-party group of MPs has expressed alarm over the closure of the Foreign Office's international humanitarian law unit, warning it will impair the UK's ability to monitor and respond to violations of international law.
Russian Foreign Ministry reports 24 civilians killed and 174 injured in Ukrainian attacks across multiple Russian regions over the past week. Drone strikes caused 89% of casualties, with Belgorod, Kherson, Zaporozhye, Samara, Donetsk and Lugansk most affected. Ukraine launched 3,300 projectiles at Russian territory.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has closed its international humanitarian law cell that tracked potential breaches by Israel in Gaza and Lebanon, following cuts and a restructuring led by dismissed permanent secretary Olly Robbins. The decision comes just two weeks after Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper pledged international law would be a linchpin of her department's policy. The closure also ends funding for the Centre for Information Resilience's Conflict and Security Monitoring Project, which maintained a database of 26,000 verified incidents in the Middle East dating back to October 7, 2023.
The UK Foreign Office has closed its International Humanitarian Law cell that tracked potential breaches by Israel in Gaza and Lebanon, following cuts linked to the overseas aid budget reduction to 0.3% of GNI. The closure ends funding for the Centre for Information Resilience's Conflict and Security Monitoring Project, which maintained a database of 26,000 verified incidents dating back to October 7, 2023. The decision comes just two weeks after Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper pledged respect for international law as a core British value in her Mansion House speech.
