Contribution of the International committee of the Red Cross in development and implementation of international humanitarian law

Abstract

The paper examines the contribution of the International Committee of the Red Cross to the development and implementation of international humanitarian law. It was established that today the Organization plays an important role not only in providing assistance to persons who are in armed conflicts and conflict situations, but also in the development and implementation of the norms of humanitarian law that exist today. It was emphasized that it was the ICRC that conducted intensive preparatory work for the Geneva Conventions and Protocols and prepared the projects that became the basis for the two diplomatic conferences. It was determined that the activities of the ICRC related to the application and observance of international humanitarian law are divided into two areas: activities in peacetime and during armed conflicts. Peacetime activities include: promoting the ratification of international humanitarian law treaties and encouraging states to prepare and adopt national legislation and other necessary measures to implement these treaties at the national level, to include humanitarian law in military and police training curricula, and encouraging states to include humanitarian principles and humanitarian law in educational programs for both schoolchildren and students. The activity of the ICRC during an armed conflict is reduced to ensuring the protection of citizens who are in the hands of the enemy, and in general to control the application of the Conventions. After analyzing the ICRC's role in the development and implementation of international humanitarian law, the main levels at which it works are determined: operational work, legal work, work on knowledge dissemination and monitoring. It has been established that the implementation of the provisions of the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols rests with both the ICRC and national governments, which should use the ICRC as a network to support the implementation and promotion of respect for and compliance with international humanitarian law.