The Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (the Fourth Geneva Convention) lists a number of actions which the parties must refrain from in all circumstances. The principal purpose of the four Geneva Conventions was to set out humanitarian rules to be followed in international armed conflict. The international law instruments adopted at these conferences form the basis of modern hu471 Human Rights and Armed Conflict manitarian law, the most relevant being the four Geneva Conventions (1949) and their two Additional Protocols (1977). Important phases in the development of the humanitarian law of armed conflicts were the (diplomatic) Conferences of Paris (1856), Geneva (1864), St. The international law of armed conflicts, of which international humanitarian law is a part, was formulated much earlier than international human rights law. In addition, humanitarian law deals with the conduct of hostilities, combatant and prisoner of war status and the protection of the Red Cross, Red Crescent and Red Crystal emblems.Ī distinction is generally made between the law designed to protect military and civilian victims of armed conflicts on the one hand, and the laws governing the way war is waged, on the other. Like international human rights law, humanitarian law protects the lives and dignity of individuals, prohibiting torture or cruel treatment, prescribing rights for persons subject to a criminal justice procedure, prohibiting discrimination and setting out provisions for the protection of women and children. Humanitarian law applies in armed conflict, restricting the actions of warring parties, providing for protection and humane treatment of persons who are not taking part or can no longer take part in the hostilities. This chapter focuses on international humanitarian law, which differs from human rights law in that it concentrates on specified conflict-related acts and does not give rise to individual claims.

Refugee law has been discussed in Part IV. While these fields are closely linked, they need to be distinguished systematically. Today, three areas of modern international law attempt to provide protection to victims of war: human rights law, refugee law and humanitarian law. Therefore, over the years, experts have focused much attention on the formulation of instruments aimed at alleviating human suffering during war and conflict. It is often during armed conflicts that human rights are infringed upon the most.

Armed conflict article