The Law of Occupation Under International Humanitarian Law: Re-theorising Obligations of Belligerent Occupants in Contemporary Conflict

This dissertation re-theorises the obligations of belligerent occupants under international humanitarian law (IHL), with a focus on contemporary non-traditional occupations, and derives implications for the conduct of Nigerian forces in ECOWAS peace support operations. The law of occupation, grounded in the Hague Regulations of 1907 and the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, was developed to govern military occupation of foreign territory in inter-state war, yet contemporary occupations increasingly arise in non-international armed conflicts, peace operations, and hybrid security arrangements that the traditional framework inadequately addresses. Drawing on historical treaty analysis, the ICRC's interpretive guidance on the law of occupation, ICJ and ICTY jurisprudence, and a comparative analysis of occupations in Iraq, Gaza, and Eastern DRC, this research develops an original effective control extension framework that proposes doctrinal adaptations to the law of occupation for non-traditional scenarios. It fills a critical gap in the IHL literature by addressing the doctrinal lacunae in occupation law as applied to African peace support operations, which has been largely unstudied in the occupation law literature. The dissertation empirically examines the legal framework applicable to ECOWAS missions in The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau as case studies, applying the effective control extension framework to assess occupation law obligations. Original contributions include the effective control extension framework and an occupation law adaptation proposal for African peace support operations. Findings recommend explicit IHL occupation law training for ECOWAS forces and a protocol on occupation obligations in peace support contexts. Keywords: law of occupation, IHL, ECOWAS, peace support, effective control.