Tales by Moonlight; International Humanitarian Law and the Realities of War (The Protection of Civilians I)

Abstract

Without legal restraints, wars would degenerate into utter barbarism. Of all the problems affiliated to warfare, perhaps the greatest was the fact civilians suffered far more injuries and losses in conflicts that they were never part of. Civilians were mostly at the mercy of the warriors. Every time war is waged, most of the casualties are civilians, especially women and children. Records of these are found in documentations regarding the wars in Rwanda, Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigerian Civil War and several others. Given the above considerations, International Humanitarian Law sets out to protect those that are not participants in war. The Geneva Conventions, amongst several other enactments, tend to provide directions for the carriage of warfare. With the very rich provisions of the laws of war, how far has the protection of civilians been a reality in scenarios of actual warfare? For the researcher, the most basic problem of laws, generally, has been in its implementation; more so, the laws of war. In Africa, especially, despots completely ignore the provisions of International Humanitarian Law, mould themselves into demigods and perpetrate all sorts of crimes against humanity and against the civilian populace. This paper, therefore, is a bid to access the extent to which the laws or war really protect civilians at war times. The researcher is simply of the opinion that while it is necessary to have laws in place to control the activities that follow warfare, it is also unavoidably necessary to ensure that, actually, these rules are followed. These notwithstanding, the question as to how possible the later is, remains unanswered; given the trend of modern warfare and the increasing involvement of civilian population in the process of war.