Полвека Женевским конвенциям

Abstract

The article reveals the significance of the 1949 Geneva Conventions on the protection of victims of military conflicts in connection with the 50th Anniversary of their adoption. The author reviews the codification process on international humanitarian law from the 1949 Geneva Conventions and 1977 Additional Protocols to the 1995 and 1996 Protocols to the 1980 Convention on prohibition of use, stockpiling, production and proliferation of landmines, 1999 Protocol II to the 1954 Hague Convention on the protection of cultural heritage during military conflicts. However, the author primarily focuses on the analysis of gaps that exist in international humanitarian law: 1) non-observance of provisions of 1977 Protocol II by the states, therefore not having the custom norms status, thus permitting the governments not to recognize the combatant status for individual reprisals and massive executions causing terroristic measures from the opposition side in response; 2) the terms of a military object, the proportionality principle and principle of non-infliction of extreme damage require a more precise definition in connection with modern military conflicts: too broad and imprecise interpretation of these principles may emasculate their content, on the other side, their specification requires maintaining intensive dialogue with their users; 3) the issue of unjustifiable use of nuclear weapons was not solved either, even the UN International Court on Justice its 1996 Consultative conclusion failed to clear it; 4) development of new international treaties in the sphere of banning the use of certain types of weapons is an extremely complex and long process and the demand of their obligatory ratification makes their application in the near future problematic, therefore a proposition of development and application of new international instruments in the form of addendum to 1977 Protocol I could facilitate their reconsideration and implementation with observance of simplified procedures; 5) it is necessary to develop provisions pertaining to application of the international humanitarian law by the UN forces in order to increase the UN authority and observance of humanitarian law; 6) the criteria measuring the efficiency of the humanitarian aid should be made precise because of unefficient control envisaged by the international humanitarian law towards its distribution; 7) development of additional measures during military conflicts is required to protect women who are exposed to severe hardships during wars; 8) Article 1 that is common to the 1949 Geneva Conventions concerning the state responsibility to observe international humanitarian law norms needs more precise interpretation, eliminating the possibility of its application as the ground for resorting to force against any state. The author concludes, that even though international humanitarian law has a special place in history and it exists within time limits, the future of humanity mainly depends on the extent, to which the law can unite people around fundamental values it protects: respect of this law provides the basis for peace settlement despite current wars; every person should always be guided by it during the continious struggle against the reasons that cause these wars.