International humanitarian law
Also called: IHL, laws of war · Topic: India's External Relations, 1947-1999: Non-alignment, Wars and Nuclear Policy · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
International humanitarian law (IHL), also called the laws of war, is the set of rules that apply during an armed conflict. It protects people who are not fighting, such as civilians. It also protects people who can no longer fight, such as wounded soldiers and prisoners of war. It limits the means and methods of warfare, meaning which weapons may be used and how. Its core is the four Geneva Conventions of 1949. The rules bind every side in a war, whatever the reason the war began. They also cover new weapons, including autonomous weapons.
Example
In the 1971 Bangladesh war, about 90,000 Pakistani troops surrendered in Dhaka on 16 December. Once they surrendered, they became prisoners of war. Under IHL, India had to treat them humanely: no torture, no killing, and proper food and shelter.
Don't confuse with
- International human rights law: this applies at all times, in peace and in war, and covers how a state treats people. IHL applies only during armed conflict. In a war, both bodies of law apply side by side.
- War crimes: these are serious breaches of IHL, such as deliberately attacking civilians. IHL is the rulebook. A war crime is a grave violation of it, for which individuals can be tried.