INTL HUMANITARIAN

LAW
Cleo Dianson
Gilian M. Tajanan

When in Solferino

In June 1859 while journeying on a business

mission in Italy he chanced to arrive in
Castiglione della Pieve the same day that
the Battle of Solferino was fought .

The town was filled with casualties and the

army medical services available at that time
proved to be inadequate.

The battle changed the course of his life.

Business and other interest become

secondary as he sought to find a way in
which such suffering could somehow be
prevented or at least ameliorated, in future
wars.

Henri Dunant
1828-1910

Appeal

Creation of relief societies

to care for the wounded
in war.
Recognition and
protection of relief
societies through an
international agreement.

In 2014, Armed conflict in Iraq and Syria

It is a crisis that is also characterized by

an overlapping and often unclear
assortment of allegiances backed by
regional and international actors and
associated support structures.

The victims were murdered inside a

UCCP village chapel in Sitio Rano,
Barangay Binaton, Digos City, on June
25, 1989

What is International
Humanitarian Law (IHL)?
A collection of treaties and
acceptable practices which govern
the conduct of war, the status,
treatment, rights and obligations of
belligerent as well as neutral and
allied States , and of individuals
involved in the armed conflict,
whether as military personnel,
health and relief providers,
members of the media and
civilians.

What is International
Humanitarian Law (IHL)?
It is the international law of armed conflict (LOAC),with two
general objectives and areas of concern regarding armed conflict.

Protection of Victims
(Geneva Law or Red
Cross Law)

Limitations of its methods

and means (Hague Law)
-Geneva Conventions I-IV
- Additional Protocols I & II
- Hague Convention IV

What is an armed conflict,

when does it exist?
It exists whenever there is a resort to armed force or
protracted armed violence:
A. Between states, and between states and national liberation
movements. (= international armed conflict)
Examples: World War II; The armed conflict between Israel and
the Palestinian Liberation Organization.

B. Between governmental authorities and organized armed

groups. (= non-international armed conflict or NIAC)
Example: Armed Forces of the Philippines vs. NPA

C. Between organized armed groups within a state. (=NIAC)

Example: NPA vs. Rebolusyonaryong Hukbong Bayan

What is an armed conflict,

when does it exist?

Armed conflicts are at times distinguished from war. which requires

in international law some declaration of (a state of) war and involves
states. However, in some related literature, NIACs have been
referred to as civil wars.

NOT considered armed conflict (and thus outside the scope of IHL) are:
Internal Disturbances and tensions such as riots, isolated and
sporadic acts of violence Ex. EDSA 3 siege of Malacanang Palace.
Banditry, unorganized and short-lived insurrections, or terroristic
activities Ex. (arguably) the case of the Abu Sayaff Group.

What are the main kinds of IHL?

There are two main kinds of IHL, just like intl law in general:
[1] Treaty Law the treaties and conventions, protocols and similar international
legal instruments which are binding only on their respective States Parties.
[2] Customary Law These are generally accepted principles and rules
established by sufficient state practice and legal opinion, which are binding on
all, particularly on all parties (including non-state armed groups) to armed
conflicts in the case of customary IHL.
Some treaties- notably the Geneva Conventions,

Convention I Wounded and Sick Convention;

Convention II Maritime Convention;
Convention III Prisoner of War Convention;
Convention IV Civilians Conventions
The Hague Convention IV with its Annex Regulations, the 1948 Genocide Convention, and the
1945 Nuremberg Charter have already achieved the status of becoming customary IHL

Fundamental Principles of IHL

The following principles can be considered the core of customary IHL:

Distinction
Proportionality
Limitation
De Martens Clause

Fundamental Principles of IHL

DISTINCTION
This is the most basic principle of IHL which is for parties to the
conflict to distinguish between combatants and civilians [Rule 1],
and between military objectives and civilian objects [Rule 7].
A corollary to this principle is the prohibition on indiscriminate
attacks [Rule 11], and so are the use of weapons which are by
nature indiscriminate [Rule 71]

Fundamental Principles of IHL

PROPORTIONALITY
It is the proper balancing of conflicting interest between
military necessity and humanitarian consideration.
The principle is reflected on two concepts:
[1] Prohibition of causing superfluous injury or
unnecessary suffering;
[2] Weighing of not only humanitarian but also socioeconomic and (natural) environmental consequences
vis--vis military utility.

Fundamental Principles of IHL

LIMITATION
It is the rule that the right of the parties to the conflict to choose
methods or means of warfare is not unlimited.
Even wars has its limits.

Fundamental Principles of IHL

DE MARTENS CLAUSE
Also called, Fall back principle, taken from the preamble of the of
the 1907 Hague Convention IV.
In cases not covered by the Regulations the inhabitants and the
belligerents remain under the protection and the rule of the
principles of the law of nations, as they result from the usages
established among civilized peoples, from the laws of humanity, and
the dictates of the public conscience.
Not only civilized usages and a sense of humanity but also public
conscience (thus, public opinion to some extent) as guides or fall
backs in the absence of the specific rules.

Fundamental Rules of IHL

[1] Belligerent States or combatants cannot use methods and weapons
of warfare which are prohibited under IHL;
[2] Attacks must be limited to military objectives and must avoid
civilians;
[3] Torture, corporal punishment or cruel or degrading treatment must
not be used;
[4] Civilians and persons hors de combat shall be treated humanely, so
shall the enemy who surrenders;
[5] Relief and medical providers must be protected.

Specially Protected Persons

and Objects under IHL
Medical and religious personnel and objects [Rules 25-30]
Humanitarian relief personnel and objects [Rules 31-32]
Personnel and objects involved in a peacekeeping mission [Rule 33]
Journalists [Rule 34]
Protected zones i.e., hospitals, nuetralized zones [Rules 35-37]
Cultural Property [Rules 38-41]
Works and installations containing dangerous forces such as
dams, dykes, and nuclear electrical generation stations [Rule 42]
The natural environment, unless it is military objective [Rules 43-45]

IHL and Human Rights

RELATIONS GOVERNED
HR mainly between the state and the individual, for protection of the
individual from state power and abuse (though recent international
legal trends have started to cover the protection from non-state
armed group abuse.)
IHL mainly between parties in armed conflict, and between both/all of
them and affected civilians or non-combatants, for their protection
and, to some extent, also for the protection of combatants from
certain methods and (weapons) of warfare.

IHL and Human Rights

OBLIGATED PARTIES
HR mainly the state, but more recently also non-state actors
IHL both parties, whether state or non-state armed group.
TIME APPLICABILITY
HR at all times, in peace and in war, but some derogation allowed in
times of public emergency
IHL in times of armed conflict, no derogation under any
circumstances therein; some limited application, like promotion
measures, in peace time.

IHL and Human Rights

PLACE APPLICABILTY
HR in all places globally
IHL in areas of armed conflict
MAIN TREATY SOURCES
Some treaties may be said to be both HR and IHL treaties in different
relative degrees, for ex. The 1948 Genocide Convention, the 2000
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the
involvement of children in armed conflict, the 1998 Rome Statute of
the International Criminal Court, and the 1998 UN Guiding Principles
on Internal Displacement.

IHL treaties ratified by the PH

The 1948 Genocide Convention

The 1949 Geneva Convention I-IV
The 1968 Nuclear Weapons Non-Proliferation Treaty
The 1968 Convention on Non-Applicability of Statutory Limitations to
War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity
The 1972 Biological Weapons Convention
The 1977 Additional Protocol II on Protection of Victims of NonInternational Armed Conflicts
The 1980 Conventional Weapons Convention and its Protocol I-IV,
including its 1996 Amended Protocol II on Mines, Booby-traps and
other devices
The Convention on the Rights of the Child and its 2000 Optional
Protocol on the involvement of Children in Armed Conflict

IHL treaties ratified by the PH

The 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention
The 1997 Anti-Personnel Mines Convention
The 2005 Additional Protocol III on the Adoption of an Additional
Distinctive Emblem

IHL treaties not ratified by PH

The 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property
in the Event of Armed Conflict, and its 1999 Second Protocol
The 1977 Additional Protocol I on Protection of Victims of
International Armed Conflicts

International Committee of the Red Cross

(ICRC) and the Red Crescent Movement
Founders:
Henri Dunant
Gustave Moynier
Guillaume-Henri
Dufour
Louis Appia
Theodore Maunoir

Mission:
To protect the lives
and dignity of victims
of war and
international
violence and to
provided them with
assistance.

ICRC Emblems

Uses of ICRC Emblem

PROTECTIVE USE The emblem
becomes a mantle of protection conferred
by the Geneva Convention upon persons,
vehicles, and property
INDICATIVE USE The emblem
identifies the persons, vehicles, and
property related to ICRC.

Current Issues
IHL is not only about wars and armed conflict but anything
that threatens humanity.
ICRC Resolutions concerning current threat to humanity
includes:

Environmental degradation and climate change;

International migration;
Urban Violence;
Emergent and recurring diseases; and
International disaster relief and assistance.