International standards

International human rights law is reflected, inter alia, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as in a number of international human rights treaties and in customary international law.

International humanitarian law is a set of rules that seek to limit the effects of armed conflict on people, including civilians, persons who are not or no longer participating in the conflict and even those who still are, such as combatants. To achieve this objective, international humanitarian law covers two areas: the protection of persons; and restrictions on the means and the methods of warfare. 

International humanitarian law finds its sources in treaties and in customary international law. The rules of international humanitarian law are set out in a series of conventions and protocols. The following instruments form the core of modern international humanitarian law: 

• The Hague Regulations respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land; 
• The Geneva Convention (I) for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field; 
• The Geneva Convention (II) for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea; 
• The Geneva Convention (III) relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War; 
• The Geneva Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War; 
• The Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I); and 
• The Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions and relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts (Protocol II). 

International human rights law and international humanitarian law in armed conflict: legal sources, principles and actors 

The Hague Regulations are generally considered as corresponding to customary international law, binding on all States independently of their acceptance of them. The Geneva Conventions have attained universal ratification. Many of the provisions contained in the Geneva Conventions and their Protocols are considered to be part of customary international law and applicable in any armed conflict.

Other international treaties dealing with the production, use and stockpiling of certain weapons are also considered part of international humanitarian law, insofar as they regulate the conduct of armed hostilities and impose limitations on the use of certain weapons. Some of these conventions are: 

• The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction; 
• The Convention on Cluster Munitions; 
• The Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction; 
• The Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction; 
• The Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May be Deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects; and 
• The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.