The Essence of International Humanitarian Law
International humanitarian law is everyone's concern. In a world where warfare and civil strife are a daily reality for millions, international humanitarian law provides a framework of protection for civilians and combatants alike. The simplest and most universal definition of humanitarian law is found in the Golden Rule, "Love thy neighbour as thyself." The great Rabbi Hillel’s response to a question on the Torah was, "Do not do unto others what you would not want to be done unto you. This is the essence and the rest is commentary."6 Practically all traditions know this fundamental principle.7 Throughout the history of humankind, all civilisations have developed rules to ensure its survival — in Asia (Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, and Bushido); in the Middle East (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam); in Africa (a multitude of customs valid only within a given tribe); and in Europe, where the mutual restrictions imposed by chivalry, before the condottieri and lace-clad war generals were supplanted by the humanists (Grotius, Hobbes, Kant, Pufendorf, Rousseau and Vattel, among others)8 — all aimed at avoiding excesses that would turn clashes into anarchy and make peace more difficult to achieve. Thus, in Article 6 of Perpetual Peace, Kant wrote: "No State at war with another must allow itself hostilities of a kind which would make reciprocal confidence impossible during future peace."9 Humanitarian law may be expressed through the provision of bilateral agreements which can be concluded before hostilities begin (cartels), during hostilities (truces and instruments of surrender), or at the end of a conflict (ceasefires and peace treaties), setting out the treatment to be given to civilians, prisoners, the sick and wounded, and neutral intermediaries. Or it may be formed through multilateral agreements, frequently concluded in reaction to a bloody conflict. Each of the stages of humanitarian law codified in Geneva from 1864 to 1977 resulted from a war that created a shock wave in public opinion: the battle of Solferino (1859) between Austrian and French armies was the impetus for the First Convention, in 1864; the naval battle of Tsushima (1905) between Japanese and Russian fleets prompted adjustment of the Convention on War at Sea in 1907; World War I brought about the two 1929 Conventions, including a much broader protection for prisoners of war; World War II led to the four 1949 Conventions10 and an extensive regulation of the treatment of civilians in occupied territories and internment; and decolonisation and the Vietnam War preceded the two 1977 Additional Protocols,11 which introduced written rules for the protection of civilian persons and objects against hostilities. Similarly, most of The Hague Law stems from the peace conferences of 1899 and 1907. World War II and regional conflicts prompted the drafting of the United Nations instruments on human rights, disarmament, the prohibition of terrorism and mercenaries, protection of the environment and protection of the rights of children. The terminology used to refer to these international treaties may vary between humanitarian law, international humanitarian law applicable in armed conflicts, laws of war, law of Geneva, Red Cross Conventions, law of The Hague, or human rights in armed conflicts. All seek the same objective: to limit the use of violence. Some of these instruments, such as human rights treaties, are based on a peacetime approach, while others, such as humanitarian law, are normally applicable during armed conflicts.
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