The core of international humanitarian law rules can be found in the four 1949 Geneva Conventions and their two 1977 Additional Protocols. On the other hand, those affected by the conflict are in need of the same protection. On the one hand, at least the parties to a conflict will always disagree on who resorted to force unlawfully or whose cause is just. This separation between the application of international humanitarian law and the legal regime governing the use of force is necessary for both humanitarian and practical reasons. In other words, international humanitarian law applies independently from any considerations concerning the lawfulness to use force. Pursuant to the principle of equality of belligerents, international humanitarian law applies equally to all parties to an armed conflict: Every party to an armed conflict has the same rights and obligations under international humanitarian law, not more or less obligations depending on whether or not their resort to force is lawful or not. Kleffner, ‘The Applicability of International Humanitarian Law to Organized Armed Groups’, 93 (882) International Review of the Red Cross, 2011, p 443. However, there are different explanations why and how international humanitarian law binds non-state armed groups, see for example J. In this respect, international humanitarian law is different from international human rights law which primarily binds states.

International humanitarian law binds all parties to an armed conflict, including non-state armed groups. Those who are participating in hostilities are protected by the prohibition of using means or methods of warfare that are of a nature to cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering.

In particular, it prohibits means and methods of warfare that do not discriminate between those who are not or no longer participating in hostilities and those who do.

On the other hand, international humanitarian law limits the means and methods of warfare, or, in other words, the weapons and tactics that may be used. On the one hand, it provides for the protection of those who are not or no longer participating in hostilities, such as civilians, the wounded, sick and shipwrecked, or captured combatants.

International humanitarian law strives to limit the effects of armed conflicts. International humanitarian law, also called the law of armed conflict or the law(s) of war, is the branch of international law that regulates conduct in an armed conflict. Legal framework » International humanitarian law

4 principles of law of armed conflicts