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6: Human Security in the Context of International Humanitarian Law and International Criminal Law

  • Page ID
    75929
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    Learning Objectives
    • Summarise the main ethical considerations that have led state parties to agree on conventions and protocols to protect people in violent conflict.
    • Describe the legal instruments that allow for human individuals to be recognised as victims or perpetrators under International Humanitarian Law.
    • Implementation and enforcement of International Humanitarian Law are hampered by diverse political contingencies.

    Hennie Strydom

    This chapter introduces the idea of protection for non-combatants in armed conflicts and explains how international law can accomplish such protection. The Geneva Conventions and associated Protocols define the situations under which protection is indicated in both international and internal conflicts. Different protection is afforded to prisoners of war, wounded and shipwrecked, and displaced people. Certain means and methods of war are also proscribed. The responsibilities of states and of individuals are defined, as well as the conditions that constitute breaches of those responsibilities. War crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and aggression are defined and mechanisms for the prosecution of state and individual transgressors are outlined. The key legal developments supporting human security include certain human rights, international humanitarian law, international criminal law, and good governance. The chapter concludes with a discussion of obstacles, particularly with respect to the responsibility to protect (R2P) and boundaries of state sovereignty.


    6: Human Security in the Context of International Humanitarian Law and International Criminal Law is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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