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    Summary Sheet - International Humanitarian Law

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    timbolbanouhoum

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    Summary Sheet - International Humanitarian Law

    Uploaded by

    timbolbanouhoum
    6 views2 pages

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    Summary sheet - International Humanitarian Law

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    6 views2 pages

    Summary Sheet - International Humanitarian Law

    Uploaded by

    timbolbanouhoum

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW

    What is it?

    Interna onal public laws regulate the conduct of na onal and interna onal armed conflicts by limi ng
    the means and methods of war and its brutality.

    Principles applied to par es to an interna onal or non-interna onal conflict


    Interna onal Humanitarian Law (IHL) protects people who do not, or no longer, take part in the
    hos li es. States and armed groups must recognize and apply IHL.
    Par es in control must meet the essen al needs of civilian popula ons. If they are unwilling or unable
    to do so, Par es must allow impar al humanitarian actors to intervene by providing them with quick
    and unhindered access to the affected civilian popula ons but keep a right of control.

    IHL protects civilians and the resources essenƟal for their survival.

    Principles applied to the impar al humanitarian actors


    Common Ar cle III, and Addi onal Protocol II (if ra fied) Art. 18 – Relief organiza ons may offer
    services. Offer shall not be considered as interference. Offer must be exclusively humanitarian and
    impar al.
    Impar al humanitarian organiza ons must get consent by the relevant party to the conflict (which may
    not be arbitrarily denied, of course).

    Sources of interna onal law

    IHL is not the only element of the interna onal legal framework. Other applicable texts were signed
    and ra fied by many countries. Those strengthen the framework of humanitarian ac on and even
    protect humanitarian workers (e.g. the Rome Statute). Here are a few examples to go further.

     CUSTOMARY LAW: rules which stem from a “general prac ce accepted as law”, and which
    exist alongside treaty based IHL. It fills various gaps in treaty-based law (especially in non-
    interna onal armed conflicts), thus providing stronger protec on for vic ms.
     UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS (UDHR): While not a treaty itself, the
    Declara on was explicitly adopted for the purpose of defining the meaning of the words
    "fundamental freedoms" and "human rights" appearing in the United Na ons Charter, which
    is binding on all member states. h ps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamental_freedoms
     Conven on on the Prohibi on of the Use, Stockpiling, Produc on and Transfer of An -
    Personnel Mines and on their Destruc on (also called the OƩawa Treaty).
     The Rome Statute of the InternaƟonal Criminal Court (ICC) defines the interna onal crimes
    over which the ICC has jurisdic on, including war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes
    of aggression if commi ed in the territory of a State Party or by one of its na onals. NB:
    “inten onally direc ng a acks against humanitarian personnel and material is a war crime if
    these a acks take place during (or in connec on with) an interna onal or non-interna onal
    armed conflict.”

    Summary Sheet - INSO NGO Security Management Course


     Interna onal human rights law and interna onal trea es on human rights, also reflected in
    the Universal DeclaraƟon of Human Rights.
     The African Union Conven on for the Protec on and Assistance of Internally Displaced
    Persons in Africa (The Kampala ConvenƟon).
     The Interna onal Conven on on the Rights of the Child explicitly recognizes people below the
    age of eighteen as full human beings who have social, economic, civil, cultural and poli cal
    rights – basic, compulsory and non-nego able rights.
     NB: “Na onal legal, tradi onal, and customary rules and norms can usefully reinforce the
    interna onal norma ve framework rela ng to humanitarian access, when those rules and
    norms are consistent with or exceed the scope of the provisions of the interna onal norma ve
    framework.”

    #NotATarget

     Protects civilians and the resources essen al to their survival.


     Humanitarians must obtain the consent of par es for humanitarian
    access.
     Humanitarians must be strictly neutral and impar al.

    Summary Sheet - INSO NGO Security Management Course

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