IHL, also known as the law of armed conflict or the law of war, is the body of rules which , in wartime, protects persons who are not or no longer participating in the hostilities, and limits methods and means of warfare. It is composed of the Geneva Conventions, the Hague Conventions and other treaties.

The Geneva Conventions

The four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their two Additional Protocols of 1977 are the principal instruments of international humanitarian law. The Philippines ratified the Conventions in 1952.

• First Convention : protects the wounded and sick soldiers in the field
• Second Convention : protects the wounded, sick and shipwrecked among the armed forces at sea;
• Third Convention : protects the prisoners of war;
• Fourth Convention : protects civilians;
• Protocol 1 : strengthens the protection of victims of international armed conflict;
• Protocol 2 : strengthens the protection of victims of non-international armed conflict;

 What is Protocol 2

Protocol 2 is an international law exclusively concerned with regulating and protecting victims of internal armed conflicts. It expands common Article 3 of the 4 Geneva Conventions. The Philippine government has been a signatory to this protocol since December 1986. To date, 144 nations are already signatories to this treaty.

Protection of Civilians

Protocol 2 specifies that all persons who do not take a direct part or who have ceased to take part in hostilities must be respected and be treated humanely. Civilians shall not be the object of attack, forced to evacuate (except for security reasons) and deliberately starved.

Violations and Penalties

Violations committed during internal armed conflicts are subject to military justice or the national penal code. For international conflicts, the International Criminal Court (ICC) was created for this purpose.

 The following acts are prohibited at anytime:

• Violence to the life, health and physical or mental well-being of persons particularly murder, torture and mutilation;
• Collective and corporal punishments;
• Hostage taking and acts of terrorism;
• Attacks on personal dignity, particularly degrading treatment, rape, enforced prostitution and indecent assault;
• Slavery;
• Pillage (robbery/theft);
• Threats to commit the foregoing acts.