TRAINING ON HUMANITARIAN PRINCIPLES, LAWS & STANDARDS

TRAINING MODULES

International Humanitarian Law (IHL)

War is regulated by international humanitarian law, also called “the law of armed conflict”. This ancient law was established progressively through the practice of states and codified through treaties they adopted. It seeks to govern the conduct of hostilities, mainly in an attempt to prevent conflicts from reaching a point of no return. One way that it does this is by restricting the choice of methods of warfare, so as to avoid unnecessary suffering and destruction. Humanitarian law also prohibits certain behaviour and posits the right to relief for noncombatants, so as to alleviate the suffering engendered by war.

The main sources of International humanitarian law are the four Geneva conventions 1949 and their three additional protocols but also the “law of The Hague” composed of various declarations and conventions establishing the rules governing the conduct of hostilities. More recently the “law of New-York” is a set of treaties governing the use of weapons.

Training

References