Respect For International Humanitarian Law Research Articles

The Evolution of Humanitarian Aid in Disasters: Ethical Implications and Future Challenges

Ethical dilemmas affect several essential elements of humanitarian aid, such as the adequate selection of crises to which to provide aid and a selection of beneficiaries based on needs and not political or geostrategic criteria. Other challenges encompass maintaining neutrality against aggressors, deciding whether to collaborate with governments that violate human rights, and managing the allocation and prioritization of limited resources. Additionally, issues arise concerning the safety and protection of aid recipients, the need for cultural and political sensitivity, and recognition of the importance of local knowledge, skills, and capacity. The appropriateness, sustainability, and long-term impact of actions; security risks for aid personnel; and the need for transparency and accountability are also crucial. Furthermore, humanitarian workers face the duty to report and engage in civil activism in response to human rights violations and the erosion of respect for international humanitarian law. Lastly, the rights of affected groups and local communities in the decision-making and implementation of humanitarian aid are vital. The traditional foundations and approaches of humanitarian aid appear insufficient in today’s landscape of disasters and crises, which are increasingly complex and divergent, marked by a diminished capacity and shifting roles of various actors in alleviating suffering. This article reviews the historical evolution of the conceptualization of humanitarian aid and addresses some of its ethical challenges and dilemmas.

Exploring the Role of Religious Actors in Generating Respect for the Laws of War: A Common Article 1 Perspective

Abstract In addition to religious personnel, who are directly involved in armed conflict, religious actors, as key actors in our community, have a significant role in respecting and ensuring respect for the laws of war. They are, both in and outside conflict, powerful agents for promoting international humanitarian law awareness and compliance, and ultimately, they can contribute to conditions that ensure greater respect for international humanitarian law. By virtue of their positions, they may have a direct opportunity to influence the positive or negative behaviour of members of the armed forces in their compliance of IHL; communicate directly with those affected by conflict; or be present within the diaspora of a community who are directly affected by the conflict. Other religious actors, spatially and temporally removed from the conflict, will have a role in the broader community conversation around ensuring respect for the law in armed conflict, without having specific linkages to any particular conflict. Through these different roles, religious actors have great leverage to use their influence for humanitarian ends. This role must be both encouraged by, and facilitated by, the State. In this way religious personnel, and religious actors more broadly, can contribute to reducing the humanitarian impacts of the global crisis of armed conflict.

GOVERNING THE WARS; THEORY, LEGISLATION, HUMAN RIGHTS, HUMAN SECURITY, AND ETHICS

The study indicates wartime programmed violence's implications within the liberal interpretation of contemporary legislative and human rights debates. It discusses related war theories and practices, problematizing instrumentalization of instilling new global ethics, arguing that humanitarian interventions often became "usable" in the new millennium's geopolitics; wars fatally affect the innocent. It points out that the origins of democracy are structurally violent and that the threat of terrorism, in addition to revealing new forms of "democratic violence," is having a transformative effect on the very character of democracy. How the concept of just cause agrees with armed humanitarian intervention, and whether we have the right to impose democracy by force? Whether the theory of just war in its positivist-legalist paradigm that combines universalist principles with utilitarian harm-weighing versus profit can offer a comprehensive method of morally contemplating current wars. The distinction between liberal cosmopolitan arguments and social democratic ones is apparent. The arbitrariness and the imposition of individual states' views create issues, leading to fragility (human security, socioeconomics, economic development, health). The compulsory international focus and responsibility should incorporate critical medical (children) - "the right to health" and humanitarian goods. Implementing rules to control war's destructiveness is less effective in intercultural conflicts. The doctrine of "just war" application is questionable, and no new victim should suffer even when the goal of the intervention is entirely legitimate and "humane." It cannot be just that it will exempt intervention forces from applying international humanitarian law, nor does the legitimacy of the intervention exempt them from respect for international humanitarian law. The international law concept has evolved from an instrument of promoting peace to an agent of the violent argument of force realization. Ethics is often imposed as politics; human rights ethics transformed into war ethics, leading to human rights violations and civilian casualties. War justice and the moral paradigm within globalization's contemporary forms are questioned. A broader discussion of the assumptions of the universality of Western values that have driven international law for centuries is required.

Responsible reliance concerning development and use of AI in the military domain

In voicing commitments to the principle that the adoption of artificial-intelligence (AI) tools by armed forces should be done responsibly, a growing number of states have referred to a concept of “Responsible AI.” As part of an effort to help develop the substantive contours of that concept in meaningful ways, this position paper introduces a notion of “responsible reliance.” It is submitted that this notion could help the policy conversation expand from its current relatively narrow focus on interactions between an AI system and its end-user to also encompass the wider set of interdependencies involved in fulfilling legal obligations concerning the use of AI in armed conflicts. The authors argue that to respect international humanitarian law and ensure accountability, states ought to devise and maintain a framework that ensures that natural persons involved in the use an AI tool in an armed conflict could responsibly rely at least on: (1) the tool’s technical aspects, (2) the conduct of other people involved in development and use of that AI tool; and (3) the policies and processes implemented at the state level. According to the authors, the “responsible reliance” notion could serve, among other examples, as a basis on which to articulate legal requirements, prohibitions, and permissions across diverse areas, from the design of AI tools to human-machine interactions to configuration of responsible-command frameworks.

The United Nations and International Humanitarian Law: The Past 75 Years

The creation of the United Nations (UN) in 1945 and the adoption of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 coincide but the relationship between the UN and international humanitarian law (IHL) remains uneasy. While the UN initially refrained from engaging with international humanitarian law, it contributed to making international humanitarian law more humanitarian through the development of human rights standards and their influence on international humanitarian law. The UN’s peacekeeping operations continue to face challenges in applying IHL while preserving the impartial nature of peacekeeping, while the Security Council (primarily through its Protection of Civilians agenda) as well as UN human rights bodies have over the past decades become tools for monitoring and ensuring respect for international humanitarian law and investigating violations of it. The article examines how the UN has over the past 75 years developed, affirmed, investigated, respected, monitored, enforced, and adjudicated international humanitarian law, and analyses the challenges the UN has encountered in doing so.

Difficulties of Defending International Humanitarian Law at the International Level

Abstract In an armed conflict the respect for international humanitarian law is the essential element to reduce its destructive effects. The application of international humanitarian law is, however, not always taken into account by states and members of the armed forces. When this obligation is seriously violated, the international community, through the UN, must intervene to restore international peace and security. Unfortunately, current armed conflicts have proven that this system is not effective, especially when it has to be activated against a permanent veto-wielding member of the Security Council, such as Russia. To make this system effective and to make such a state to apply correctly international humanitarian law, the UN must be reformed. But all these reform proposals do not take into account the efficiency of the measures in Chapter VII of the Charter and the strengthening of international authority.

Symbiosis in violence: A case study from Sierra Leone of the international humanitarian law implications of parties to the conflict engaging in organized crime

AbstractThis article aims to demonstrate that respect for international humanitarian law (IHL) may help reduce the impact of organized crime in areas affected by armed conflict through a case study of the conflict in Sierra Leone (1991–2002). In this conflict, a symbiosis in violence was created, with diamond smuggling being essential to achieve the parties’ military objectives, and those objectives being increasingly shaped by involvement in diamond smuggling. This led to further violence connected with the conflict and breaches of IHL. Ensuring compliance with IHL may therefore reduce the impact of these activities in armed conflicts. An important tool in securing this compliance is the influence of other States not party to the conflict, further to their obligation to ensure respect for IHL.

Partnered Operations and the Positive Duties of Co-Parties

Abstract A key issue in partnered operations is the extent to which partners have obligations under international law as regards each other’s conduct. For partnered operations in situations of armed conflict, this issue has generated a rich and vivid debate on the existence of a duty to ensure respect for international humanitarian law (IHL) by one’s partners, and in particular, whether this duty would require taking positive action. Rather than weighing in on the general question of whether all States bear such duties, this article sheds light on one aspect that this debate has tended to overlook. The article specifically looks at the situation in which multiple parties are engaged in the same armed conflict alongside one another against a common adversary—here labelled ‘co-parties’. It investigates which positive obligations these parties have as regards each other’s conduct. The central argument is that co-parties in an armed conflict have multiple complementary sets of duties to take positive steps vis-à-vis the conduct of their fellow co-parties. The resulting network of duties reflects the central role of the parties to the conflict to ensure that armed conflicts are carried out in accordance with the protective purposes of IHL. Built into the established structure of the legal framework regulating armed conflict, the account of the duties of co-parties presents a more refined conception to the allocation of obligations under IHL in cooperation settings, which, if implemented, may contribute to addressing the protection challenges raised by partnered operations.

Interview with Peter Maurer

Peter Maurer served as President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) from 2012 to 2022. During his time as President, Maurer prioritized strengthening humanitarian diplomacy, engaging States and other actors for the respect of international humanitarian law, and improving the humanitarian response through innovation and new partnerships. Meanwhile, he oversaw an historic budget increase and organizational expansion. Prior to his role at the ICRC, Mr Maurer served as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in Switzerland and headed the Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs. Earlier, Mr Maurer held various positions representing Switzerland at the United Nations (UN) in New York, including Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the UN, Chairman of the UN's Fifth Committee, and member of the UN Peacebuilding Commission. Mr Maurer had first joined the Swiss diplomatic service in 1987, through which he held various positions in Bern, Pretoria and New York. Maurer was born in Thun, Switzerland in 1956. He studied history and international law in Bern, where he also earned a doctorate.

The well-trodden path of national international humanitarian law committees

AbstractThe road towards effective implementation of international humanitarian law (IHL) is a continuous process where important milestones will be reached at each step. As part of such a process, national committees and similar entities on IHL have played a key driving role. As with most long-haul road trips, one tends to start with an idea of the roads that will be taken and what the end destination will look like. In this case, the common destination is better respect for IHL. While the destination never changes, the different roads to be travelled can multiply, creating new opportunities through events that arise, and actors encountered along the way. Likewise, when the first national IHL committees were formed in the 1970s to advise and assist their States on the domestic implementation of IHL, they undoubtedly followed different roadmaps from those followed today. As IHL has evolved to keep pace with new realities of warfare, so too has the work of national IHL committees. New treaties have been adopted, new interpretations have been agreed upon, requiring new domestic laws and measures. This article will begin by pinpointing where exactly the journey started for national IHL committees, highlighting that the creation of these bodies coincided with important developments across the international landscape which would come to reinforce domestic implementation of IHL. In the second section, the authors will provide a detailed mapping of the roads generally travelled by these entities, with the intention to showcase the multi-faceted nature of their work and the innumerable milestones achieved along the way. The final section will explore the material, political and structural road bumps which are slowing down the work of some national IHL committees and will provide recommendations on how these entities may overcome these hurdles.

The Updated Commentary on the Third Geneva Convention: A New Tool for Generating Respect for International Humanitarian Law

Geneva Convention III relative to the treatment of prisoners of war was first adopted in 1929 but was updated in 1949. It defines the protection afforded to prisoners of war from the time of capture to final release or repatriation. The Convention has been in existence for over seven decades and some of its provisions are no longer in tune with current reality as seen in contemporary armed conflicts noting also that most of the conflicts today are internal in character. The ICRC in their wisdom began the updating of the GC III and in June of 2020 the updated commentary on GC III was launched. This paper therefore, examines the updated commentary on the Geneva Convention III as a new tool for generating respect for IHL. In this wise the paper examines some core provisions of the GC III in line with the updated commentary. The paper finds that the updated commentary provides contemporary meanings to the otherwise obsolete provisions of the GC III. The paper notes that the updated commentary is an indispensable tool for preserving the humane treatment guaranteed to POWs. It further finds that it is a resource and guide book for practitioners and a hand book for experts. The paper recommends that domestic frameworks must be updated in addition to training of the armed forces. It further recommends the dissemination of the provisions of the convention and updated commentary and concludes by urging members of the academia to help make known the updated commentaries as it will help generate respect for IHL.

International Humanitarian Law and Non-State Actors: A Contradiction of Terms?

There seems to have been a shift in the state-centric vision of international relations, following the increasing role of non-state actors (NSAs) on the international scene, particularly in the context of armed conflicts. Ezequiel Heffes, Marcos Kotlik and Manuel Ventura, editors of International Humanitarian Law and Non-State Actors, present through this collection of contributions an overview of legal issues arising from this new reality. The editors draw on their personal experience to explain how NSAs contribute to the development of international humanitarian law (IHL) and to suggest that in order to promote respect for IHL by all parties involved in an armed conflict, this new role should be given due consideration from a legal standpoint. The review aims to confront critically the position taken in the volume, assessing the pros and cons of an increased recognition (and potential legitimisation) of NSAs, with a particular focus on non-state armed groups. It discusses, in particular, the implications of this process for the exercise of sovereign rights and respect for fundamental guarantees, especially in relation to the powers to detain and to adjudicate.

(الحماية الدولية للمدنيين في النزاعات المسلحة (دراسة تحليلية

The international arena has witnessed a number of armed conflicts (both international and non-international), which have had a severe impact on all humanity. Most of these attacks have been perpetrated against civilians who have been protected by international laws and conventions. However, they have not been sufficient. The distinction between combatants and non-combatants in the conflict has become less evident in the civilian population centers, as well as the increasing participation of civilians in tasks and activities more closely linked to the conduct of hostilities, A strong will is required to make more efforts to activate these rules and mechanisms by intensifying international efforts to rework these rules to keep abreast of recent developments in the means of fighting to ensure effective international protection, while activating and establishing new monitoring and investigation mechanisms and effective means to ensure the implementation of and respect for international humanitarian law by all parties States and international and regional organizations.

Importance of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Training in Armed Police Force, Nepal

International humanitarian law (IHL) applies at times of armed conflict, placing legal obligations on all warring parties that are designed to limit the inhumanity of warfare. Armed Police Force (APF), Nepal with the mandate to control an armed struggle occurred or likely to occur in any part of Nepal, to control armed rebellion or separatist activities or likely to occur in any part of Nepal, and to provide assistance in case of external intervention being under the Nepali Army, can at any time become a party in both international and non-international armed conflict. APF’s role in UN Peacekeeping Missions is also an area where it may have to engage with non-state actors if and when situation demands. All these necessitate APF personnel to have proper understanding and compliance to the principles of IHL, violation of which can increase human suffering and consequent individual criminal responsibility and command responsibility. In light of this, it concludes the IHL specific trainings in APF, Nepal should be maintained and augmented to ensure broad and better understanding and respect for IHL in times of conflict.

Don’t forget the Geneva Conventions: achieving responsible business conduct in conflict-affected areas through adherence to international humanitarian law

ABSTRACT This article examines the question of how a business operating in a conflict-affected area can uphold human rights. It contends that a crucial yet often overlooked element is a business’s commitment to embedding the fundamental standards of international humanitarian law (IHL) (as distinct from international human rights law) into its policies and practices. The United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights state that companies doing business in conflict-affected areas should respect IHL—the law of armed conflict. However, businesses are often unfamiliar with IHL and its relevance to their operations; it both provides legal protections and represents potential risks and liabilities. Similarly, the scholarly discourse around business and human rights (BHR) tends to overlook the relevance of IHL. The absence of IHL from the scope of the draft BHR treaty currently being negotiated at the United Nations is indicative of this. While some businesses operate with greater conflict sensitivity than others, in most cases they do not use an IHL lens to do so. The article outlines the significance of IHL for business and provides an affirmative case for greater integration of IHL into the BHR project, including its governance instruments and practical tools, to help realise the goal of responsible business conduct in conflict-affected areas.

Aktuelle Fragen der Schweizerischen Völkerrechtspraxis

The national implementation of UN sanctions, which typically obligate Member States to restrict travel and freeze assets of listed individuals and entities, cannot be legally challenged within the UN system. This leads to challenges being brought by concerned individuals before national and regional courts that assess the legality of listings and their implementation. The Office of the Ombudsperson has the mandate to examine petitions brought by individuals in the context of the ISIL (Da’esh) and Al-Qaida sanctions regime only. This review mechanism suffers from certain deficits. The article discusses the challenges and highlights efforts by Switzerland and other States to improve due process of UN sanctions regimes. The respect, reinforcement and promotion of international humanitarian law are among Switzerland’s foreign policy priorities. Switzerland is notably leading a joint initiative with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to strengthen respect for international humanitarian law and is proposing an amendment to the Rome Statute to prohibit the starvation of civilians in non-international armed conflicts. The United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union (EU) constitutes an unprecedented situation that gives rise to fundamental questions under international law, for EU Member States as well as for third countries such as Switzerland. Due to the uncertainties surrounding the conclusion of a withdrawal agreement between the EU and the United Kingdom, Switzerland has adopted a strategy in order to safeguard on the same level and possibly extend its bilateral relations with the United Kingdom as well as to address the challenges posed by Brexit.

Humanitarian Diplomacy: The ICRC's Neutral and Impartial Advocacy in Armed Conflicts

AbstractAs part of a roundtable on “Balancing Legal Norms, Moral Values, and National Interests,” this essay describes the humanitarian diplomacy of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) by comparing it conceptually with other forms of advocacy and illustrating it with the ICRC's recent experience in the Yemen crisis. Humanitarian diplomacy is examined as one particular way of balancing legal norms, moral values, and national interests in the pursuit of greater respect for international humanitarian law (IHL) and principled humanitarian action in armed conflicts. The essay looks back to ancient history for archetypal forms of humanitarian advocacy in various cultural traditions. It then describes humanitarian diplomacy's practice of discreet diplomacy and confidential dialogue with all parties to a conflict, and compares its relatively “quiet” approach with the “loud” approach of outrage activism focused on “naming and shaming,” which tends to be the norm today. The essay argues that there is an important and complementary place for the ICRC's style of humanitarian diplomacy alongside other forms of advocacy even in the face of criticism that the ICRC is sometimes publicly silent about what it knows of atrocities and avoids naming and shaming.

EU support to domestic prosecution of violations of International Humanitarian Law

The Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 establish an obligation to ensure respect for International Humanitarian Law (IHL) at all times. This summary obligation is now understood as enshrining a mechanism of collective responsibility whereby all State parties commit to adopt all the necessary and reasonable measures to prevent and stop violations of IHL, but also to prosecute them when they amount to war crimes. This third dimension is comprised in articles 49/50/129/146 of Conventions, which impose an obligation on its State parties to extradite or prosecute (aut dedere aut judicare) alleged perpetrators of grave breaches, including on the basis of universal jurisdiction if needed. As the EU has manifested its interest in ensuring respect for IHL with the adoption of the Guidelines on promoting compliance with IHL, the objective of this article is to analyze whether and to what extent the EU has developed instruments facilitating domestic prosecution of alleged war criminals pursuant to the Geneva Conventions.

The updated ICRC Commentary on the First Geneva Convention : A new tool for generating respect for international humanitarian law*

The updated ICRC Commentary on the First Geneva Convention : A new tool for generating respect for international humanitarian law*

Armed Non-State Actors and Cultural Heritage in Armed Conflict

Abstract:This article presents the preliminary findings of a scoping study that Geneva Call is conducting to understand the existing dynamics between armed non-state actors (ANSAs) and cultural heritage. Geneva Call is a Swiss-based non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting the respect of international humanitarian law by ANSAs. The study centres on three case studies—Syria, Iraq, and Mali—on which information has been obtained through desk and field research, interviews with ANSAs operating in those countries, and with leading organizations committed to the protection of cultural heritage, globally or regionally. The article first maps the various attitudes of ANSAs toward cultural heritage, highlighting both positive and negative examples from current practices. Then it analyzes the response of specialized organizations to the impact of ANSAs on cultural heritage and their level of engagement with these actors on cultural heritage issues. Finally, the conclusion offers some tentative recommendations to enhance the respect of cultural heritage by ANSAs in non-international armed conflicts.