Humanitarian and International Law (Essay Sample)

The Humanitarian and International Law
Name:
Institution:
Date:
Introduction
International humanitarian law refers to a set of laws that seek to control the effects of armed conflict. It provides protection to the people affected by the conflict yet they do not participate in the conflicts. It accomplishes this by limiting the warfare methods and means.
This law is part of the international law, which is a set of rules that govern the relations among different states CITATION Gai99 \l 1033 (Gail, 1999). International law is found in conventions, treaties and agreements between states. Additionally, the law is also contained in customary rules consisting of national practice and considered as general principles that are legally binding CITATION For05 \l 1033 (Forsythe, The humanitarians: the International Committee of the Red Cross, 2005).
What the paper entails
This paper will cover widely on the international law. Among the issues that it will cover are, an elaborate explanation on what humanitarian and international law is, the origin of the law, what the law covers, what protection legally means, an elaborate description on where international humanitarian law is found and what regulations are outlined on tactics and weapon use CITATION Pic75 \l 1033 (Pictet, 1975). It will also discuss on areas where international humanitarian law applies and also look at whether the law has been successfully complied with. Lastly the paper will discuss on the case of non-international armed conflicts and measures taken to ensure the law is implemented. In this outline, however, two issues pertinent to the law will be discussed. These include protection, The Hague and The Geneva laws CITATION Ste03 \l 1033 (Stewart, 2003).
Protection
The international human law provides protection to those people who do not participate in the wrangles. Such people include religious, medical and military staff and civilians. It also covers those people that were involved in the fight but have stopped for various reasons CITATION Gre08 \l 1033 (Greenwood & Dieter, 2008). These include wounded combatants, shipwrecked and war prisoners. The outlined categories of people have the right to be accorded respect for their lives, mental and physical integrity. Thus, they have to be treated humanely under all circumstances without any hazardous distinction on the basis of their condition CITATION Adv04 \l 1033 (Advisory Service, 2004). These people have right to enjoy their legal assurances. Moreover, it is outlawed to wound or kill an assailant who is not able to fight or has already surrendered CITATION UNE97 \l 1033 (UNESCO Staff, 1997). Regardless of the conflicting states, the wounded and the sick have to be taken care of by any party whose hands they find themselves in. Ambulances, hospitals, supplies and medical staff must be protected. Rules are also provided outlining the conditions of confinement for war prisoners, military requirements of different state and humanitarian affairs CITATION Kha06 \l 1033 (Khadduri, 2006).
The Geneva and Hague laws
Both laws are branches of jus in Bello, international law that outlines acceptable code of conduct in the event of armed conflict and war. They both form the two historical branches of the modern international humanitarian law CITATION For07 \l 1033 (Forsythe, 2007). The Hague Law, also known as the laws of war, determine the duties and rights of states in the verge of war and regulates their conduct in their operations and also controls the means used to do harm CITATION Hil99 \l 1033 (Hilaire, 1999). It is particularly concerned with developing rules governing the methods and means to be employed in warfare, examining the objectives of the military and also defining the combatants CITATION Jay07 \l 1033 (Jayawardenal, 2007). The Law of Geneva on the other hand, majors in offering protection to civilians and the people who no longer could participate in armed conflict. It provides a legal platform for humanitarian aid and protection carried out by some humanitarian organizations, for instance, the ICRC CITATION Joh03 \l 1033 (John & William, 2003).
Conclusion
By the end of this paper, the reader wi...