“International Humanitarian Law and Other Legal Regimes: Interplay in Situations of Violence” Address by Jakob Kellenberger, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross

Extract

Thirty-five years ago the International Conference on Human Rights held at Teheran adopted a resolution entitled “Human Rights in Armed Conflicts”. In political terms, the 1968 resolution signalled the international community's recognition that armed conflicts “continued to plague humanity” despite the United Nations Charter's prohibition on threats or use offeree in international relations. By dealing with human rights in armed conflict, the resolution also put an end to more than two decades of United Nations reluctance to address issues of ius in bello for fear of undermining the Charter's provisions on ius ad belium. In legal terms, the adoption of the Teheran resolution opened the way for a fresh look at the relationship between international humanitarian law and international human rights law in the protection of persons affected by war.