International law, also known as public international law, primarily governs relations between states and international organizations and resolves any disputes between them. It extends to include individual legal persons in some cases.
International law evolved due to the need to regulate the interactions and relations between states and their obligations toward each other, especially in matters that threaten global peace and security. Examples are crimes against humanity and war crimes. International law covers various fields, including international trade law, the law of the sea, navigation law, international environmental law, international human rights law, and international humanitarian law. Contemporary legal literature tends to view individuals and non-international entities as also being obligated to respect rights and be held accountable in international law.
States, through making international treaties and practicing international customs, are the primary sources of international law. The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties sets the mechanism for approving and ratifying international treaties. The United Nations is considered the guardian of international law through the authority granted to it by the signatory countries to the Charter of the United Nations. The UN has convened a series of conventions and established several international bodies to protect treaties, including the International Court of Justice, International Criminal Court (ICC), World Trade Organization (WTO), International Labor Organization (ILO), and Human Rights Council (OHCHR). Most importantly, the UN Security Council is the most powerful international body. It can impose sanctions on states, entities, and individuals; it also can approve the use of force in armed conflicts and refer serious human rights violations to the ICC, granting it jurisdiction even over countries that are not members of the ICC.
The concept of human rights is based on the essentiality of respecting and maintaining the natural rights of human beings without discrimination based on race, religion, gender, or any other identity. Human rights also guarantee the individual’s rights independently as a person with their own needs and ambitions and collectively as part of a group that shares the same basic human needs. Despite the modernity of the term, the roots of human rights can be found in natural law and its principles. One of these principles is known as the inborn right to life.
The concept of human rights has evolved from natural law to legal positivity to cover broader types of rights, such as civil and political rights, freedom of expression, transportation, and minority rights. As a moral value, human rights transcend legal frames, making them capable of evolving to challenge more patterns that violate any rights relevant to the broad concept of human rights. Human rights have also become a crucial standard for political and development programs in view of their guarantees of individuals’ and groups’ rights.
International human rights law is the set of international treaties, resolutions, and declarations that define and guarantee the primary obligation of states to protect human rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR); the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights; and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights form the basis of what is known as the International Bill of Human Rights. The UDHR is a more detailed document that explains the rights and freedoms set out in Article 55 of the Charter of the United Nations. Acceptance of the UDHR by all countries of the world makes it, or at least some of its texts, fall within customary international law.
In addition to the International Bill of Human Rights, the following international treaties and their protocols are the most fundamental international human rights instruments: the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination Against Women, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The United Nations has supplemented these treaties with committees, including the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, to follow up on the work of treaties and ensure states’ compliance with and efforts to protect them.
Interest in human rights grew after World War II. The United Nations worked to frame human rights in the form of international charters, declarations, and resolutions and expand the circle of human rights treaties’ member states. In 2006, the Human Rights Council replaced the Commission on Human Rights to review the performance of UN member states with regard to international human rights law, which means that commitment to human rights is no longer only a domestic affair; the international community has the right to intervene to stop violations locally.
International humanitarian law, or the “law of war,” is a branch of international law. Its special rules regulate the behavior of disputants in war and provide protection to the victims of armed conflicts, with the aim of reducing human suffering and civilian casualties. For example, it prohibits the use of excessive military force to achieve a military victory, prohibits targeting civilians who are not taking part in hostilities or who are no longer participating, and requires proper care for wounded, detained soldiers and prisoners of war. International humanitarian law sets standards for targeting legitimate military objects of the opposing party and prohibits targeting medical personnel, journalists, civilian objects, and vital institutions such as schools, hospitals, roads, and dams. The four Geneva Conventions of 1949 are the essential primary sources of international humanitarian law, but its origins—the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907—are older. Many of the rules regulating the use of force were inspired by the customs of nations in wars, religious legislation, and moral rules forming what is known as customary international humanitarian law. International humanitarian law does not govern the legality of war or identify parties responsible for waging wars; the UN Charter addresses those issues. International humanitarian law is separate from the principles of the right to war and self-defense; it is concerned only with behavior and actions after the outbreak of conflict. Finally, it imposes the same obligations on all warring parties, regardless of their reasons for being involved in the conflict.
The four Geneva Conventions were signed in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1949 and entered into force in 1950, and three additional protocols were attached to them in 1978. The four Geneva Conventions regulate the codified rules that govern the behavior of warring parties in armed conflicts to limit the damage they cause. The four Geneva Conventions together are the primary reference of international humanitarian law, or what is called the law of war.
Almost all the member states of the United Nations have acceded to the four Geneva Conventions, while more than 160 countries have also signed the two Additional Protocols, making them among the most accepted treaties in the world. The devastation of the two World Wars, which are unparalleled in human history, was the primary impetus for the four Geneva Conventions, although they were preceded by the two Hague treaties of 1864 and the Geneva Convention of 1868.
The Geneva Conventions consist of four conventions and three additional protocols attached to them: Geneva Convention (I) for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field, Geneva Convention (II) for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea, Geneva Convention (III) relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, Geneva Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, Protocol additional to the Geneva Conventions relating to the protection of victims of international armed conflicts (Protocol I), Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions and relating to the protection of victims of non-international armed conflicts (Protocol II), and Protocol additional to the Geneva Conventions and relating to the adoption of an additional distinctive emblem (Protocol III).
