La XXVI Conferencia Internacional de la Cruz Roja y de la Media Luna Roja se celebró en Ginebra, del 3 al 7 de diciembre de 1995. Organizada por primer a vez conjuntamente por el CICR y la Federación Internacional de Sociedades de la Cruz Roja y de la Media Luna Roja, la Conferencia acogió a unos 1.200 delegados, que representaban a 143 Estados Partes en los Convenios de Ginebra, a 166 Sociedades Rationales de la Cruz Roja y de la Media Luna Roja, al CICR y la Federación, así como a 68 instituciones gubernamentales y no gubernamentales y a Sociedades Nacionales en formación, que asistieron en calidad de observadores.

The San Remo Manual was prepared during the period 1988–1994 by a group of legal and naval experts participating in their personal capacity in a series of Round Tables convened by the International Institute of Humanitarian Law. The purpose of the Manual is to provide a contemporary restatement of international law applicable to armed conflicts at sea. The Manual includes a few provisions which might be considered progressive developments in the law but most of its provisions are considered to state the law which is currently applicable. The Manual is viewed by the participants of the Round Tables as being in many respects a modern equivalent to the Oxford Manual on the Laws of Naval War Governing the Relations Between Belligerents adopted by the Institute of International Law in 1913. A contemporary manual was considered necessary because of developments in the law since 1913 which for the most part have not been incorporated into recent treaty law, the Second Geneva Convention of 1949 being essentially limited to the protection of the wounded, sick and shipwrecked at sea. In particular, there has not been a development for the law of armed conflict at sea similar to that for the law of armed conflict on land with the conclusion of Protocol I of 1977 additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949. Although some of the provisions of Additional Protocol I affect naval operations, in particular those supplementing the protection given to medical vessels and aircraft in the Second Geneva Convention of 1949, Part IV of the Protocol, which protects civilians against the effects of hostilities, is applicable only to naval operations which affect civilians and civilian objects on land.

Ni la Convention sur l'interdiction ou la limitation de l'emploi de certaines armes classiques qui peuvent çtre considérées comme produisant des effets traumatiques excessifs ou comme frappant sans discrimination, adoptée à Genève le 10 octobre 1990, ni les protocoles y annexés ne mentionnent spécifiquement dans leurs dispositifs les principes sur lesquels reposent les interdictions et les limitations prévues. Cependant, ces principes sont rappelés dans le préambule de la Convention.

L'activité de la Société russe de la Croix-Rouge pendantees cinq dernières annécs aux différents fronts de la guerre et ausein de la population civile, surtout en 1921 dans sa lutte contre la famine et ses conséquences, a provoqué une reconnaissance profonde du peuple russe et lui a acquis une popularité toujours croissante.

With the long-heralded advent of the information age, the upheaval caused by the proliferation of visual technologies in a society dominated by the media is forcing the entire spectrum of what used to be called “the press” to redefine itself, to reassess its professional code of ethics and to devise new working methods. Only by examining the role played by images in the global flow of information—especially their relationship to the written word—can we fully grasp what is at stake. Our world view is increasingly shaped by the images, televised or in print, to which the public is constantly exposed. Indeed, so great is their power that one can say, along with many analysts, that they are beginning to replace reality: only what has been authenticated, certified and validated by being photographed or filmed and shown on television really exists. As these images bombard us from all sides, everything that has not been seen captured on film is reduced to oblivion. What makes the power of images so irresistible?

Images impart values. They attract or repel. They appeal to our imagination, play on our feelings and rouse us from our complacency: in other words, images stir our conscience because they purport to show us, in the raw, the unadorned, indisputable reality of things as they are. That is television's great ambition, that is its purpose; and that is what prompted Régis Debray to say that “television is fond of humanitarian stories since they are both human interest stories and moral tales”. Over the years, images of humanitarian action have invaded the media and fired people's imagination.

Of the 51 opinions handed down by the Court of the Hague (28 by the Permanent Court of International Justice and 23 by the International Court of Justice), there is little doubt that the two delivered on 8 July 1996 in response to requests submitted by the WHO World Health Assembly and the United Nations General Assembly will become landmarks in the history of the Court, if not in history itself.

Con vistas al año 2000, la solución de los grandes problemas de nuestra época es inseparable del respeto de los valores universales que son el fundamento de la acción humanitaria. Cuando se trata de proteger la vida humana y aliviar el sufrimiento, luchar contra el hambre y la enfermedad, promover la reducción de las tensiones y la cooperación, no se puede lograr progreso duradero alguno si no va acompañado de medidas que salvaguarden la vida y la dignidad de todo ser humano.

Operating under responsible command is an essential requirement to qualify as a lawful combatant, and is also central to the doctrine of command responsibility. This reveals the inextricable link between the role of the commander and the effective implementation of the international humanitarian law (IHL). Understanding this linkage is vital to ensuring that commanders and other military leaders fulfil their obligation to prepare subordinates to navigate the chaos of mortal combat within the legal and by implication moral framework that IHL provides. Few commanders would question the proposition that responsible commanders prepare their military units to effectively perform their combat missions. However, operational effectiveness is only one aspect of developing a “responsible” command. Because this term is grounded in the expectation of IHL compliance, a truly responsible command exists only when the unit is prepared to execute its operational mission in a manner that fully complies with IHL obligations. This broader conception of a disciplined and effective military unit reflects the true nature of the concept of responsible command, as only military units built on this conception of discipline advance the complementary objectives of military effectiveness and humanitarian respect. Accordingly, the requirement that lawful combatants operate under responsible command is an admonition to all military leaders that truly effective military units are those capable of executing their missions with maximum operational effect within the framework of humanitarian constraint that defines the limits of justifiable violence during armed conflict.

My views concerning the negotiation of the 1977 Protocols were set forth some 13 years ago in my contribution to the book published in honor of Jean Pictet, and I do not want to repeat them here. But perhaps, from the perspective of the intervening years, there may be a few things I could usefully add.

Ever since the first quarter of the nineteenth century, Colombia has shifted from one war to the next, be it the War of Independence, the fierce confrontations between liberal and conservative parties or the countless conflicts among guerrillas, paramilitary groups and the State. These wars have brought along a unique contribution to the development of international humanitarian law (IHL). The purpose of this article is to explore the myriad of ways in which Colombia has implemented (and at times made progress on) IHL rules, and to analyze how different conflicts have led the country to explore issues such as the protection of minors, the meaning of the principle of precaution, the compensation of armed conflict victims and the creation of some rather sophisticated transitional justice mechanisms.

The destruction of cultural heritage in armed conflicts has gained increasing political momentum and visibility over the last two decades. Syria, Iraq and Mali, among others, have witnessed the intentional destruction of their cultural heritage by non-State armed groups (NSAGs) that have invoked Islamic law and principles to legitimize their actions. The response of the international community has predominantly focused on the material aspect, to the detriment of the significant impact on the associated intangible manifestation of cultural heritage in local communities. This article argues that several Islamic legal rules and principles may, more adequately than international humanitarian law, safeguard the intangible dimension of cultural heritage in certain contemporary armed conflicts in Muslim contexts. It aims to demonstrate the importance of drawing from multiple legal traditions in order to enhance the protection of intangible cultural heritage in armed conflicts and to strengthen engagement with the relevant NSAGs.

While persons with disabilities are protected under existing international humanitarian law (IHL), the specific risks and barriers to which these persons are exposed during armed conflict must be better factored into the interpretation and implementation of these rules. The complementarity between IHL and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) may make an important contribution towards a more disability-inclusive implementation of IHL. This article focuses on two major areas addressed by IHL – namely, the conduct of hostilities and detention – against the backdrop of the concept of and agency associated with disability enshrined in the CRPD. This analysis is based on the lived experiences shared by persons with disabilities in consultations co-organized in 2022 by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Disability Forum, the European Disability Forum and the Diakonia IHL Centre.

Dissemination is the spreading of knowledge of international humanitarian law (IHL) and of the Fundamental Principles and ideals of the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement so that they may be understood, accepted and respected; it is also intended to facilitate humanitarian work.

The 26th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent,

noting with great concern the increasing number of armed conflicts taking place in various parts of the world,

alarmed by the gross and persistent violations of international humanitarian law that are being committed, particularly against civilians, including the most vulnerable,

deeply concerned about the grief and suffering resulting from such violations,