The law of war — international humanitarian law — has a place of its own and its own special characteristics in the general scheme for the repression of offences. International law is, in a sense, on the fringe of the provisions made by States in their domestic law for the repression of unlawful acts. It has its own system of repression, which imposes sanctions for breaches of international law committed by States, international organizations or individuals.

Since the early 1970s, the steady deterioration of the natural environment has given rise to widespread awareness of man's destructive impact on nature.

This awareness of the vital importance for humanity of a healthy environment and the determined efforts of numerous environmental protection agencies have led over the years to the adoption of a large body of laws for the protection and preservation of the natural environment.

The current war in the Middle East shows the extent to which the world is now beset by disruption and uncertainty. The humanitarian work of the ICRC is obviously seriously affected by this situation. Being particularly sensitive – both by its nature and because of its mandate – to the state of international affairs, the ICRC is having to cope not only with the immediate effects of an international conflict but also with the implications in humanitarian terms of internal conflicts and disturbances which continue to prevail in many regions and which equally require the constant presence of delegates from our institution.

The purpose of this study is to analyse the normative character of custom in international humanitarian law (IHL), on the basis of the theory and jurisprudence of public international law, in order to arrive at a better understanding of the conduct of States in conflict situations. In so doing, an attempt will be made to determine the possibilities for developing custom in IHL, especially in view of the increasing concern shown by international public opinion for the plight of victims of armed conflicts. The paper will begin with a review of the questions raised by custom as an independent source of humanitarian law (point 1) and go on to take a closer look at the constituent elements of custom in humanitarian law (point 2). It will end with a comparative study of the two approaches to custom in IHL, concentrating on the consequences that the development of custom may have in the future (point 3).

The Red Gross has been involved with refugees for many years, in fact ever since the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement began assisting the victims of wars, revolutions and other disturbances. All the Movement's institutions take part at some stage in dealing with refugees, deportees and persons displaced within their own countries, for instance by providing protection in the countries of origin at the time of exile, setting up reception facilities in transit or first asylum camps and supplying material and medical aid, or by carrying out tracing activities and organizing family reunifications, not forgetting the support lent to those engaged in the often interminable and humiliating procedure of applying for asylum.

In 1974, the University of Leiden (Netherlands) established a Chair of International Humanitarian Law, whose first incumbent was Professor Frits Kalshoven, a familiar name to readers of the Review. Mr. George Aldrich, who led the United States delegation at the Diplomatic Conference on the Reaffirmation and Development of International Humanitarian Law Applicable in Armed Conflicts from 1974 to 1977, and who since 1981 has been a Judge at the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal in The Hague, was recently appointed as his successor.

During an official ceremony held at the University of Leiden on 13 November 1990, the new holder of the “Red Cross Chair”, as it is sometimes called, made a pressing appeal in his inaugural lecture for compliance with international humanitarian law. In his talk Professor Aldrich described with a large measure of realism the obstacles to implementation of the law but showed cautious optimism in reviewing the means available to the international community to surmount those obstacles.

The Review is pleased to publish, with the author's agreement, the text of his lecture which brings to a close, on a note of appeal and hope, this series of articles devoted to implementation of international humanitarian law.

From the very first, the founding members of what was to become the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement realized that it was necessary to comply with a number of essential principles. The work of the Red Cross and Red Crescent is based on the fundamental idea of impartial assistance to anyone who is suffering, whether friend or foe.

Armed conflict is often accompanied or followed by the outbreak of famine. The legal foundations of global humanitarian policy for dealing with famine are reviewed in this article, with special attention to conflict situations and their aftermath. The existing law is examined first, and then recent proposals in the form of drafts and expert studies which seek to develop legal instruments or policy relating to international humanitarian assistance are considered.

Before stating the terms of the problem we intend to examine, it is necessary first of all to explain what is meant by “the imperative necessity of implementing international humanitarian law”.

Like any body of law, international humanitarian law (IHL) was intended not as a series of abstract precepts, but as a set of specific rules governing real situations. This is reaffirmed in Article 1 common to the Four Geneva Conventions of 1949, which lays down the obligation for the High Contracting Parties to respect and ensure respect for these treaties in all circumstances.

Armed conflicts always have dire effects on the health of the civilian population. Apart from the harm — wounds, burns, asphyxia and radiation — caused directly by weapons of war, the people fall prey to disease because of the disruption of their normal living conditions.

In most cases, it is the latter rather than the former which takes the greatest toll.

Some basic health protection principles are therefore common to all development and disaster situations.

In May 1991, Mr. Cornelio Sommaruga, President of the ICRC, spent some time in Greece at the invitation of the Hellenic Red Cross (see IRRC, No. 283, July–August 1991). While there, he was asked by the Jean-Gabriel Eynard Greek-Swiss League to give a lecture in connection with the 700th anniversary of the founding of the Swiss Confederation. The subject of the lecture was “The ICRC's humanitarian mandate as reflected in the light of its activities in Greece and throughout the world”. The President's purpose was to remind his hearers of the work done in Greece by Swiss delegates of the ICRC. who might be regarded as “humanitarian Hellenists”, and. in his words, “to retrace some stages in the journey made by the International Committee of the Red Cross in company with the Hellenes, in order to throw light on certain aspects of the beautiful and difficult mission of the Red Cross”.

This year the Swiss Red Cross is celebrating its 125th anniversary. On this occasion, the Review is happy to include the following two articles: one deals with the historical development of the National Society and the other with the challenges it faces on the threshold of a new millennium.

The World Campaign for the Protection of Victims of War reached its peak on World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day, 8 May 1991. This was the day when members of the Movement were invited to form a “chain of light” around the world as a reminder that the role of the Red Cross and Red Crescent is to “light the darkness” for all victims of war.

Immediately after hostilities broke out between Iraq and Kuwait on 2 August 1990, the ICRC reminded all parties of their obligations under the 1949 Geneva Conventions, of which they are signatories (see IRRC No. 278, September-October 1990, p. 444).

That is the slogan of this year's World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day, which is being celebrated throughout the world today, 8 May, the anniversary of the birth of our Movement's founder, Henry Dunant. Today also marks the culminating point of the World Campaign for the Protection of Victims of War.

Rather than serving as a pretext for noisy celebration and self-congratulation, the 125th anniversary of the founding of the Swiss Red Cross should be an occasion for reflection on our institution's development, its role within the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and its special situation as the National Society of Switzerland. This is a worthy undertaking, an attempt, as the historian Marc Ferro put it, “to capture time and make it intelligible to others”. But anyone who embarks on such a venture must be careful to avoid rewriting the past according to his own preferences and giving an idealized picture of this humanitarian organization, which has had its share of tensions, setbacks and contradictions, some of them still unresolved.