Human rights and international armed conflict

Abstract

It may seem strange to think of the armed forces of a State having to consider the human rights both of enemy nationals and of its members during an international armed conflict in which they are involved. It will be well understood that for the duration of an international armed conflict international humanitarian law, which has been designed specifically to deal with just such a situation, will impose some legal limitations on the physical power of the armed forces. Members of the armed forces in most States will have been trained, to some extent, to abide by this body of law. They will know, for instance, that it is forbidden to kill unarmed civilians, to take part in any attack on them, to attack vehicles or buildings displaying the protective emblem, and to kill prisoners of war. Those higher up the chain of command will bear an additional responsibility to ensure compliance with this extensive body of law and may have lawyers to advise them. In some States military exercises may well have had built into them: ‘law of war scenarios’ to test the ability of the armed forces to apply this law. Considerable effort is made by the International Committee of the Red Cross to advise States on their obligations under the Geneva Conventions 1949 (along with their Additional Protocols of 1977).