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ince 2009, over 10,000 people have been killed and 1.5 million people dis-
placed due to Boko- Haram related vio lence in northern Nigeria. Boko Haram,
whose name means “Western ways are forbidden,” is a radical Islamist guerrilla
group fighting the Nigerian government. Since 2014, the group has kidnapped over
2,000 women and children from towns and villages. World attention was drawn to
the situation when more than 200 girls were kidnapped from one boarding school,
leading to an international media campaign #BringBackOurGirls that drew the
support of activists worldwide. The kidnapping and the subsequent campaign dom-
inated the airwaves and social media for several months, only to die a slow death
as the girls remained in captivity, more were kidnapped, and the Nigerian military
floundered in its efforts to right the wrong.
The actions of Boko Haram and other groups committing such atrocities are no
longer viewed as acceptable during war, any more than using child soldiers or tortur-
ing prisoners of war is viewed as acceptable. And in peacetime, trafficking of people
and illicit goods by states and criminal organ izations and maltreating refugees are no
longer deemed to be defensible. International human rights has emerged as another
key issue in world politics.Human RigHts