Publication

This report finds that states are in fact legally obliged to undertake casualty recording. By virtue of the dual strengths and protections enshrined in International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and International Human Rights Law (IHRL), the authors demonstrate that there is a legal obligation to record the details of individual casualties, whether combatant or civilian. The burden lies on states to make sure that this work is done, but it has largely been left to civil society organizations. The responsibility for this task, although admirably adopted by these organizations and many others, legally lies with the government of respective states involved in armed conflict.