CRI 166 Guide for Teachers
Prepared By: Faith E. Montalban
Module 5
Suggested Date of Discussion:
Topic(s):
1. The IHL and its two areas: Hague Law and Geneva Law
2. The Basic Principles of IHL
3. The ICRC
What is the International Humanitarian Law?
International Humanitarian Law (IHL) is also known as the “law of armed conflict” (LOAC) and
“the law of war”. International humanitarian law is a set of rules that seek, for humanitarian
reasons, to limit the effects of armed conflict.
Notes: Basically. it protects persons and property during armed conflict (war) by limiting the use
of methods and means of warfare of their choice. Example: efforts to ban the use of nuclear
weapons.
Supplementary Videos: (OPTIONAL)
What are the Rules of War? by the ICRC:
[Link]
A story of Atomic Bombing by the ICRC:
[Link]
What are the two areas covered by the IHL?
1. HAGUE LAW - restricts the means and methods of warfare and includes the
limitations of weapons to be used during armed conflict.
- This area is also referred to as the law governing the conduct of hostility
because hostilities can be conducted only in limited ways.
2. GENEVA LAW - protects the persons in armed conflict such as the military personnel,
and civilians who are not or no longer taking part in the hostilities.
- This refers to the law governing protected persons. It also states that medical
personnel, women, and children should be treated humanely and stipulates a
certain standard on how to treat them.
What are the Basic Principles of the IHL? (3)
1. Military Necessity - requires that a party to an armed conflict may only resort to those
means and methods that are necessary to achieve the legitimate purpose of a
conflict, i.e. ‘to weaken the military forces of the enemy’. (St. Petersburg Declaration
(1868), preamble.)
2. Humanity - imposes certain limits on the means and methods of warfare, and requires
that those who have fallen into enemy hands be treated humanely at all times. It seeks
to limit suffering, injury, and destruction during armed conflict; its purpose is to
protect life and health and to ensure respect for the human being.
CRI 166 Guide for Teachers
Prepared By: Faith E. Montalban
Example:
Using disinformation to mislead the enemy is not as such prohibited, as long as it does not
infringe any specific rule of IHL and is not perfidious. Conversely, spreading false information
designed to cause panic among the civilian population in times of armed conflict would conflict
with the principle of humanity. This is because such actions – even if not covered by a particular
rule of IHL – would be reasonably expected to lead to significant harm to civilians, which would
be contrary to the demands of humanity.
3. Proportionality - a balance must be struck between military necessity and humanity.
Active Learning Activity: (Optional) Take home activity.
Divide the class into 5 groups and assign all groups to research on the war between:
Group 1: Palestine and Israel
Group 2: World War 2
Group 3: Syrian Civil War
Group 4: Vietnam War
Group 5: World War 1
After a presentation/reporting of each groups of what happened during the war, students should be able
to answer all these questions:
1. What started the war?
2. Who were involved in the war?
3. How many casualties were there?
4. Did both countries abide by the Principle of Military Necessity?
5. Did both countries abide by the Principle of Humanity?
6. What specific instances in the war violated the Geneva Law? What about the Hague Law?
7. What did the ICRC do? Or what should have been done by the ICRC?
What is the International Committee of the Red Cross?
Guardian and promoter of IHL as a neutral and independent organization whose exclusively
humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of armed conflict and other
situations of violence and to provide them with assistance.
The four Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols give the ICRC a
specific mandate to act in the event of armed conflict. During international armed conflicts,
the ICRC has a right to visit prisoners of war and civilian internees to make sure that their
treatment and the conditions in which they are being held are consonant with IHL.
— end of module 5