DIILS recently conducted two engagements in Nouakchott, Mauritania where a multi-service team of U.S. military members worked with Mauritanian security forces on various legal issues relating to human rights and combating terrorism.

The first program addressed the contours of international human rights and international humanitarian law, also known as the law of armed conflict.  The discussion focused on the challenges facing a professional military engaged in non-international armed conflict against violent armed groups, as well as emerging issues regarding the application of international human rights law and the law of armed conflict in such situations.

The second event was linked to the recently completed USAFRICOM exercise FLINTLOCK. Since the Mauritanian participants played an active role in the exercise, the DIILS team and the Mauritanian personnel engaged in an active dialogue regarding the legal issues that they experienced during the exercise.

The program included discussion on rules of engagement, rules for the use of force, detainee operations, drone strikes, operations in Afghanistan, and the law of armed conflict. Current events in Mali, Syria, Iran, North Korea and the Democratic Republic of Congo drove much of the dialogue. 

Along with the DIILS International Operations Officer from the U.S. Marine Corps, the DIILS team was comprised of a U.S. Navy Captain who serves as a professor in the U.S. Naval War College Joint Military Operations Department, and a Major in the U.S. Army Reserves, all of whom have extensive operational law experience.