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International criminal jurisdiction, international humanitarian law and humanitarian action

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 January 2010

Jacques Stroun
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Extract

Shortly after the Second World War the community of States, still shocked by the explosion of violence that had torn the world apart for more than five years, ratified an updated version of the Geneva Conventions in the hope of acquiring a sound legal instrument which would preserve human dignity even in times of war. They undertook to respect the fundamental rights of the individual in armed conflicts, whether international or otherwise, and to limit the use of force to what was strictly necessary to place an enemy hors de combat. Their resolve found confirmation in the two Additional Protocols of 1977.

Type
International criminal jurisdiction and international humanitarian law: the Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda
Information
International Review of the Red Cross (1961 - 1997) , Volume 37 , Special Issue 321: International criminal jurisdiction and international humanitarian law: the Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda , December 1997 , pp. 623 - 634
Copyright
Copyright © International Committee of the Red Cross 1997

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Footnotes

*

Jacques Stroun, M.D., is Deputy Director of Operations at the 1CRC. After qualifying in internal medicine and practising at various hospitals, he joined the ICRC and carried out several field assignments as medical coordinator or delegate.

References

1 As at 15 October 1997, a total of 188 countries were bound by the four Geneva Conventions. By the same date, 148 States had ratified Additional Protocol I relating to international armed conflicts and 140 had ratified Additional Protocol II relating to non-international armed conflicts.

2 According to common Article 1, all States party to the four Geneva Conventions are jointly responsible for ensuring application of those instruments.

3 Statutes of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Article 5. para. 2(c).

4 Ibid., Article 5, para. 2(g).

5 Ibid., Article 5, para. 2(c).

6 Dunant, Henry, A Memory of Solferino, ICRC, Geneva, 1986, p. 128.Google Scholar