Changing the narrative on international humanitarian law

When discussing international humanitarian law (IHL) with people—whether armed actors, political actors or otherwise—one is often confronted with scepticism on the significance of the law today: ‘Nobody respects it anyway.’ ‘The other side does not respect it, so why should we?’ ‘They are terrorists, so the law does not apply to them.’ ‘Wars today are different. The old rules are no longer relevant’. Coupled with daily reports of atrocities in conflict zones, this negative discourse can lead to despair and a tendency to question the impact and relevance of IHL in modern warfare.

The perception that IHL is always violated and therefore useless is not only wrong, it is also dangerous. Yes, violations do occur. However, such a negative and dismissive discourse renders violations banal and risks creating an environment where they may become more acceptable.