International Humanitarian Law (IHL)
Aims to promote dignity of those affected
- A branch of public international law
that, in times of armed conflict, seek
for humanitarian reasons to protect
persons who are not or no longer
participating in hostilities, and to
restrict means and methods of
warfare.
- It consists of international treaty or
customary rules that are specifically
meant to resolve humanitarian issues
arising directly from armed conflict,
whether IAC OR NIAC.
- Law of armed conflict, law of war
- aims to protect human dignity,
reduce suffering
Protected Persons:
Sick
Wounded
Shipwrecked
Prisoners of war
Other detained persons
Civilians
*Protection of civilians is binding for all
parties to armed conflict, State and Non-
State
*Civilians must not be attacked under any
circumstances, they are entitled to
humanitarian aid, and protection extends to
their public and private property
Note: such protection will be lost when such
property is used to help the enemy or if it
contains emblems of the enemy.
*Avoid attacks that result in civilian
casualties
*Avoid defensive measures that put
civilians in danger
IHL CONCERNS:
International armed conflict (IAC)
Non-international armed conflicts that
take place within one country (NIAC)
* IHL applies to all parties to a conflict
regardless of who started it and regardless
of formal declarations on the existence of an
armed conflict.
HOW DOES IHL PROTECT?
1. Requires parties to distinguish between
fighters and civilians
- Prohibit attacks on civilians
- Prohibits indiscriminate attacks and
the use of weapons that do not
distinguish
2. Requires are for the wounded and sick
and protects medical personnel
3.
by armed conflict
4. Prohibits or limits the use of weapons that
are particularly cruel (causes unnecessary
suffering)
REALITY OF WAR
- Over the past 3,400 years, humans
have been entirely at peace for 268 of
them, or just 8% of recorded history.
DISTINCTION
PROPORTIONALITY
AP I Art. 51 (5). Among others, the ff
types of attacks are to be considered
indiscriminate:
(a) An attack by bombardment by any
methods or means which treats as a
single military objective a number of
clearly separated and distinct military
objectives located in a city, town,
village or other area containing a
similar concentration of civilians or
civilian objects;
(b) An attack which may be expected to
cause incidental loss of civilian life,
injury to civilians, damage to civilian
objects, or a combination thereof,
which would be excessive in relation to
the concrete and direct military
advantage anticipated.
PRECAUTIONS: (ART. 57 AP I)
(i) Do everything feasible to verify that
the objectives to be attacked are
neither civilians nor civilian objects
and are not subject to special
protection but are military objectives
within the meaning of par. 2 of Art. 52
and that it is not prohibited by the
provisions of this Protocol to attack
them;
(ii) Take all feasible precautions in the
choice of a and methods of attack with
a view to avoiding, and in any event to
minimizing, incidental loss of civilian
life, injury to civilians and damage to
civilian objects;
(iii) Refrain from deciding to launch any
attack which may be expected to
cause incidental loss of civilian life,
injury to civilians, damage to civilian
objects, or a combination thereof,
which would be excessive in relation to
the concrete and direct military
advantage anticipated
LIMITATIONS ON MEANS AND METHODS
OF WARFARE
- The right of the parties to the conflict
to choose methods and means of
warfare is not unlimited
- It is prohibited to employ means and
methods of warfare of a nature to
cause superfluous injury or
unnecessary suffering
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN IHL AND IHRL 5. Prohibition of corporal
IHL punishment
Only in times of armed conflict 6. Prohibition of mutilation, medical
Holds accountable all parties to the or scientific experiments or any
conflict, including states and non-state other medical procedure
actors, as well as individuals 7. Prohibition of rape and other
Protects human dignity and deals with forms of sexual violence (non-
conduct of hostilities discriminatory)
Use of lethal force permitted by 8. Prohibition of slavery and slave
military necessity trade in all their forms
Absolutely non-derogable 9. Prohibition of uncompensated or
abusive forced labor
IHRL 10. Prohibition of taking
Both in times of peace and armed hostages
conflict 11. Prohibition against the use
Holds accountable only states through of humans shields (intentional co-
their governments location of military objectives &
Protects human dignity protected persons)
Lethal force only if absolutely 12. Prohibition against enforced
necessary (self-defense or defense of disappearance
others, for example 13.Prohibition of arbitrary
Permits derogation of some rights deprivation of liberty (valid grounds
during public emergency for initial and continued detention)
14. Right to fair trial
SOURCES OF IHL 15. Principle of legality
16. Requirement of individual
Four Geneva Conventions of 1949 criminal responsibility (personal
Additional Protocols 1&2 of 1977 commission)
Additional Protocol 3 of 2005 17. Prohibition of collective
Other treaties, which restrict means and punishments
methods of warfare (Hague Conventions, 18. Respect for convictions and
Ottawa treaty, Convention on Cluster religious practices
Munitions, etc.) 19. Respect for family life
Customary law
IHL Protection for WOMEN & CHILDREN
CONFLICTS IN THE PHILIPPINES - Combatants as wounded and sick/
NIACs in the Philippines: captured/detained
- Civilians
1. GRP vs. NPA
- CA3, customary law, APII applicable *Parties to an armed conflict are required to
2. GRP vs MILF permit the free passage of consignments of
- CA3, customary law, APII applicable essential food and clothing for:
3. GRP vs MNLF Children under 15
- CA3, customary law, APII applicable Expectant mothers
4. GRP vs. BIFF Mothers of young children particularly
- Common Article 3, customary law
nursing mothers
- APII not applicable (no control over a
territory) *Parties to an armed conflict are
5. GRP vs ASG encouraged to adopt practices to ensure
- Common Article 3, customary law the physical safety of pregnant women and
- APII not applicable (no control over a may establish safety zones for pregnant
territory) women and mothers of young children

Women shall be protected against:

19 Fundamental guarantees to those who Outrages against personal dignity
are not or no longer participating in (humiliating and degrading treatment)
hostilities during armed conflict: Enforced prostitution
1. Humane treatment Rape
2. Non-discrimination (except in case Any form of indecent assault
of urgent need)
3. Prohibition of violence to life and
IHL Special Protection for Children
person in particular, murder of all
It is a war crime to recruit children to
kinds
join armed groups
4. Prohibition of Torture, Cruel,
Child is defined as someone below 15
Inhumane or degrading treatment
years of age
 The Philippines adheres to 18 years transports, personnel using the Red
old as the age of maturity Cross/Crescent/ Crystal emblems
Optional protocol to the 7. Launching an attack in the knowledge
convention on the rights of child that it will cause widespread, long
raised the age of prohibition from 15 term and severe damage to the
years old to 18 years old. natural environment
8. Launching an attack against works or
PROTECTION OF HORS DE COMBAT installations containing dangerous
A person hors de combat is someone forces
who is no longer participating in 9. Attacking by whatever means towns,
hostilities by choice or circumstance villages, dwellings or buildings which
A person can be placed hors de are not military objectives
combat when: 10. Killing or wounding a person
1. He/she is in the power of an that is hors de combat
adverse party 11. Perfidy
2. He/she is defenseless because 12. Intentionally directing attacks
of unconsciousness shipwreck against buildings dedicated to religion,
wounds or sickness education, art, science, charitable
3. He/ she has clearly indicated an purposes, historic monuments,
intention to surrender hospitals that are not military
objectives
13. Subjecting persons to physical
What constitutes Direct Participation in mutilation or to medical or scientific
hostilities? experiments, or to removal of tissue or
attacking enemy organs for transplantation
14. Pillaging a town or place
capturing equipment
15. Ordering the displacement of
laying mines
civilian population, unless security of
sabotaging
civilians and imperative military
tactical intelligence
reasons so demand
collection on the battlefield
16. Employing means of warfare
care and feeding of troops
which are prohibited under IHL
ammunition/weapons factory
production Command Responsibility:

Promoting respect for the civilian - There is individual criminal

population
- reminding parties to the conflict of
their obligation under international
humanitarian law to spare the lives of
civilians and to treat them with
humanity and dignity
- maintaining confidential dialogue with
parties to armed conflict about the
way they conduct hostilities
Prohibited acts during NIAC
1. Committing violence to life and person
willful killings, mutilation, cruel
treatment and torture
2. Committing outrages upon personal
dignity humiliating and degrading
treatment
3. Taking of hostages
4. Passing of sentences and carrying out
of executions without previous
judgment pronounced by a regularly
constituted court
5. Intentionally directing attacks against
the civilian population and civilian
objects
6. Intentionally directing attacks against
buildings, medical units and
responsibility
Responsibility of superiors a superior
shall be responsible as principal for such
crimes committed by subordinates, where:
a) that superior wither knew or, owing to
the circumstances at the time, should
have known that the subordinates
were committing or about to commit
such crimes;
b) that superior failed to take all
necessary and reasonable measures
within his/her power to prevent or
repress their commission or to submit
the matter to the competent
authorities for investigation and
prosecution
REPUBLIC ACT 10530
Act Defining the Use and Protection of the
Red Cross, Red Crescent and Red Crystal
Emblems, Providing Protection for Violations
Thereof
USE OF THE EMBLEMS:
Protective in armed conflict
- Visible sign of protection
 - Should be as large as possible with no
other information
Indicative mainly in peace time
- Shows link to the Movement
- Small and must bear additional
information
Protective Use by the AFP Medical
Service and Religious Personnel
o AFP Medical Personnel
- Can use the emblem in both
peacetime and times of armed conflict
to identify its medical personnel, units
and transports on the ground, sea, air
- AFP Medical Personnel shall wear
armlets and carry identity cards
displaying the Red Cross emblem
o AFP Religious Personnel
- Shall be afforded the same protection
- Shall be identified in the same way
Use by Hospitals and other Civilian
Medical Units and Transports
- The DOH, in consultation with the PRC,
shall authorize the use of the Red
Cross emblem only in times of
conflict
- DND shall authorize medical
personnel, units and transport of
uniformed personnel in government
other than AFP to be marked with the
emblem only in times of armed
conflict
Use by the PRC, ICRC, and IFRC
o PRC
- Is authorized to use the emblem as a
protective device for its medical
personnel and units
o ICRC AND IFRC
- May make use of the emblems at any
time and for all their activities
CONTROL AND PENALTIES
DND, DOH, and DTI shall ensure strict
compliance
take appropriate steps to prevent
misuse
disseminate the rules as widely as
possible among the armed forces,
police, government agencies and
civilian population
PRC shall cooperate with DND, DOH,
DTI in their efforts to prevent/repress
misuse
Misuse is defined as:
Willfully and without entitlement
- Make use of the Red Cross, Red
Crescent, Red Crystal emblems
- Make use of the words Red Cross, Red
Crescent, Red Crystal
- Make use of the translations of the
words Red Cross, Red Crescent, Red
Crystal in any official language and
dialect
PENALTIES
Ordinary misuse does not result in
death or serious bodily harm
Arresto mayor (1 month and one
day to 6 months of imprisonment)
PhP 50,000 fine
Misuse results in death or serious
bodily harm
Reclusion perpetua (20 years
and 1 day to 40 years of
imprisonment)
PhP 500,000 to PhP 1,000,000 fine
RA 9851
AN ACT DEFINING AND PENALIZING CRIMES
AGAINST INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN
LAW, GENOCIDE AND OTHER CRIMES
AGAINST HUMANITY, ORGANIZING
JURISDICTION, DESIGNATING SPECIAL
COURTS, AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES
- Signed on 11 December 2009,
penalizes crimes against IHL,
Genocide, & Other crimes against
Humanity
- RTC have the jurisdiction
- State responsibility for training judges,
prosecutors, and investigators
- Reclusion perpetua and PhP
1,000,000 fine are the maximum
penalties
- ICRC plays no role in the prosecution
and punishment of crimes covered by
RA 9851
Individual Responsibility individuals are
criminally responsible for violations