War Profiteering and Armed Conflicts: Examining Applicable Aspects of International Law

Abstract

The proliferation of armed conflicts is perhaps the biggest challenge of the 21st Century international system. These conflicts have become a monumental lucrative industry, where parties external to the fighting, i.e., third parties, smile to the bank, from proceeds made on major deals in defence contracts and arms sales. In the process, they leave behind a trail of civilian fatalities. Notwithstanding the extensive literature on armed conflicts, the scholarly focus on the accountability framework related to war profiteering remains limited. This article examines the applicability of certain aspects of international law, in particular, human rights and humanitarian law, to war profiteering and highlights the fact that the current framework doesn’t sufficiently deal with the problem. It submits that the danger that war profiteering poses to world peace and security is one that must be taken seriously. In the absence of clear guidance under these regimes of international law, the article stresses the need to address the problem in a manner that responds adequately, especially with respect to determining a specific accountability framework.