It is written for practitioners who must mediate unequal power relationships among States, armies, victims, international organizations, and nongovernmental groups. It is written for those who seek to defend humanitarian space in situations in which the lives of the most vulnerable are threatened by direct or indirect violence and abandonment by governments. This book is thus written for those who analyze events that take place in the world and those who seek to understand them, those who inquire about the choice and innocence of words stemming from new forms of political and military propaganda. This new edition of the Practical Guide expands the vocabulary covered and enriches existing terms with all the legal and jurisprudential debates of the past ten years, as well as the discreet but significant progress made by customary international humanitarian law. Indeed, the increased technicalities of humanitarian law drive its application into legal experts’ battles that threaten its immediate and practical application by armed and relief actors in situations of conflict.įifteen years after the first publication of the Practical Guide to Humanitarian Law, this new comprehensive and updated edition was essential to trace, in a simple and accessible way, the evolution of humanitarian law and meet the challenge of its civil and civic application in today’s world. However, this reinstatement of humanitarian law has paradoxically further complicated and weakened it. Numerous judgments of national and international courts have eventually-but too late and too silently-filled those legal black holes and have technically reestablished humanitarian law in its rightful interpretation. This phenomenon is illustrated by the theoretical and practical abuses of interpretation made in the context of the “global war on terror.” These abuses have weakened the understanding of the very founding principles of humanitarian law, including the definitions of armed conflict and combatants, which have turned into overcomplicated legal matters hardly understandable or applicable to real-life situations. This challenge has created “legal black holes” where there would be no more certainty that humanitarian law or human rights are either applicable or implemented. ![]() But alongside this judicial evolution, provisions of humanitarian law have become the target of a legal battle launched by some States in order to challenge their applicability and release themselves from their obligations in situations of armed conflicts. Decisions made by international courts have given legal meaning and substance to humanitarian law principles counterbalancing their recurrent violations by armed actors. The rapid development of international criminal law has provoked great enthusiasm within legal circles and among human rights activists. Besides, this humanitarian “imperative” and its related fight against impunity have also stirred the creation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the indictment of several heads of States and military leaders before international criminal tribunals. Indeed, many military interventions in countries in conflict or crisis have been carried out in the name of humanitarian concerns, of a wide definition of national and international security, or of the “Responsibility to Protect” doctrine. But it has recently become an essential element of international diplomacy and therefore runs the risk of becoming victim of its own success.ĭuring the last decade, international humanitarian law and humanitarian action have played a key role in almost all the debates relative to the management of international peace and security. ![]() International humanitarian law has long been neglected for its paradoxical ambition to regulate armed conflict while lacking necessary international sanctions for its most serious violations, such as war crimes and other crimes against humanity. This body of law is argued and defended through action and, thus, is not the property of lawyers or specialists, and must be known and defended by as many people as possible. It is the arbiter that determines individuals’ survival in the face of violence committed by societies. International humanitarian law represents the ultimate reference in situations of crisis and conflict.
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