Yes, even Wars Must Abide by a Set of Rules

When we think of wars, what often comes to our mind is explosions here and there, brutal death, completely destroyed buildings and abandoned towns, bone-crunching fear and hopelessness, massive population displacement and migration, rampant lawlessness, etc. But does it often occur to you that there is international law for wars too??If it does occur to you, good for you, you have some insights about the legal frameworks of war. If it doesn’t though, now you know that even wars must abide by a set of rules and that set of rules is called International Humanitarian Law (IHL).

IHL is a set of rules that seek, for humanitarian reasons, to limit the effects of armed conflict. IHL protects persons who are not or who are no longer participating in hostilities. IHL originates from conventional or customary laws that are applicable in any armed conflict whether it is international or not. That is why it is also called the "law of armed conflict" or the "law of war.[1]

IHL is made up of various conventions, protocols, and treaties. But its nucleus is the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols. The Geneva Conventions were first signed in 1864. But in 1949, the conventions were revised and expanded.[2][3]

The 4 Geneva Conventions (1949)

• First Convention: Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field: The convention protects wounded and sick soldiers; medical personnel, facilities, and equipment; wounded and sick civilian support; personnel accompanying the armed forces; military chaplains; and civilians who spontaneously take up arms to repel an invasion.
• ?Second Convention: Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick, and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea: The convention protects armed forces members who are wounded, sick or shipwrecked; hospital ships and medical personnel; and civilians who accompany the armed forces on ships.
• Third Convention: Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War: The convention protects prisoners that are members of the armed forces; volunteer militia, including resistance movements; and civilians accompanying the armed forces.
• Fourth Convention: Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War: Civilians in areas of armed conflict and occupied territories are protected by the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Additional Protocols to Geneva Conventions

• ?Protocol I (1977): Protocol relating to the Protection of Victims of International Conflicts: Protocol I expands protection for the civilian population as well as military and civilian medical workers in international armed conflicts.
• Protocol II (1977): Protocol relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-international Armed Conflicts: Protocol II elaborates on protections for victims caught up in high-intensity internal conflicts such as civil wars. However, it does not apply to such internal disturbances as riots, demonstrations, and isolated acts of violence.
• Protocol III (2005): Protocol relating to the Adoption of an Additional Distinctive Emblem. The convention was adopted to provide another distinctive emblem: the red crystal. The red crystal is an optional emblem, equal in status to the red cross and red crescent. The red crystal may be used in environments where another emblem could be perceived as having religious, cultural, or political connotations.

Other Treaties that are Part of IHL

• The Law of The Hague (1899-1907): “Hague Law” stems from three basic principles that imply the parties involved in wars do not have an unlimited right to choose the methods and means of waging war. These principles are: (1) methods and means of waging war shall make the distinction between civilian persons and property and military objectives. (2) parties involved in wars shall not use weapons of indiscriminate effect. (3) methods and means of waging war shall not cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering to combatants.[4]
• The Biological Weapons Convention (1972): This convention prohibits the development, production, acquisition, transfer, stockpiling, and use of biological and toxin weapons.[5]
• The Chemical Weapons Convention (1993): It is a convention on the prohibition of the development, production, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons and their destruction.[6]
• The Ottawa Treaty (1997): The Ottawa Treaty commits signatory states to not use, not manufacture, not sell, or destroy existing stockpiles of anti-personnel mines (APL) in the country. In addition, signatory states that have experienced armed conflict on their territory commit to decontaminating the country and declaring it free of mines and other Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) within a period of time to be agreed upon with the Treaty Committee. They also commit to providing care and protection to the victims.[7]
• ?Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (1981-83): Subsequently, given the evidence of the harm caused by other types of weapons to civilians in most conflicts, the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons was signed, prohibiting, among other things, the use of booby traps and incendiary bombs.[8]
• Convention on Cluster Munitions (2008-2010): Cluster Munitions were banned for two reasons: (1) they spread over a wide area when dropped, indiscriminately affecting the population without distinguishing between civilians and the military. (2) most of them do not explode in contact with the ground and remain in a very dangerous state for a long time, threatening the civilian population and impeding economic and social development.[9]
• Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons?(2021): Finally, the treaty making the use of nuclear weapons illegal under international law entered into force in January 2021.[10]

Data shows that, only in 2022, there are 14 countries where there is an active war. Some of these counties are Ethiopia, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Syria, Yemen, and Colombia.[11] As peace lovers, we recommend that any party involved in wars to end the bloodshed through peaceful conflict resolution mechanisms right away. At the same time, for humanitarian reasons, we beseech all combatants anywhere on the face of the earth to strictly abide by IHL as long as they are in a state of war. More importantly, as a consultancy firm specialized in programmatic research and empowerment, we suggest that it is imperative to investigate if combatants involved in wars have abided by IHL. If there is any evidence of a violation, it is also imperative that we duly examine the physical, psychological, social, and economic impacts. For in this way, we could at least respond to the needs of victims, ease their suffering, and facilitate their rehabilitation.

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Article ?(Website content)

Oct 20, 2022

Edomgenet Hiba (Asst. Prof.)

Senior Research Officer, Frontieri Consult

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

References

[1] Sassòli, M. (2019). International Humanitarian Law. International Humanitarian Law.

[2] Ratner, S. R. (2008). Geneva Conventions. Foreign Policy, 26-32.

[3] American Red Cross. (2011). Summary of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and Their Additional Protocols: International Humanitarian Law. https://www.redcross.org/content/dam/redcross/atg/PDF_s/International_Services/International_Humanitarian_Law/IHL_SummaryGenevaConv.pdf

[4] Collier, J. G. (1992). Legal basis of the institution of war. In The institution of war (pp. 121-132). Palgrave Macmillan, London.

[5] Huigang, L., Menghui, L., Xiaoli, Z., Cui, H., & Zhiming, Y. (2022). Development of and prospects for the biological weapons convention. Journal of Biosafety and Biosecurity, 4(1), 50-53.

[6] Albedwawi, S. A. A. M. (2022). Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD): An Overview. South Asian Journal of Social Science and Humanities, 3(3), 103-110.

[7] English, J. (2013). The Ottawa Convention on anti-personnel landmines.

[8] Solomon, S. A. (2003). The United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons of 1980: its recent development and increasing significance1. Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law, 6, 345-365.

[9] Nystuen, G., & Casey-Maslen, S. (Eds.). (2010). The Convention on Cluster Munitions: A Commentary. Oxford University Press.

[10] Borrie, J. (2021). An Introduction to Implementing the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Journal for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament, 4(1), 1-12.

[11] Countries Currently at War 2022. https://worldpopulationreview.com/countryrankings/countries-currently-at-war

Accessed: 2022-10-21