Human Rights-Based Intelligence Operations - Commission on ...

1.3 International <strong>Human</strong>itarian Law
Fundamental Principles of
International <strong>Human</strong>itarian Law
1. Principle of Distinction
Parties to the conflict shall at all times
distinguish between the civilian population
and combatants, and between civilian objects
and military objectives and, accordingly, shall
direct their operations only against military
objectives.
2. Principle of Proportionality
The actual damage that is caused by attacking
a military target must not be larger than the
calculated military advantage.
3. Principle of Military Necessity
The only legitimate objective, which states
should endeavor to accomplish during war, is
to weaken the military forces of the enemy;
that for this purpose, it is sufficient to disable
the greatest possible number of men.
(http://www.icrc.org)
Implementation of
International <strong>Human</strong>itarian Law
The 1949 Geneva Conventions and their
Additional Protocols are international
treaties which serve as the core of international
humanitarian law, a part of the body of
international law that governs the behavior
of states during warfare and internal armed
conflict. However, treaties of IHL, to be
universally accepted must be formally
adopted by a State through ratification or
accession. After which, a State must then
enact a national legislation and take practical
measures in order for the rules to be fully
effective.
The Philippines ratified the Geneva
Conventions of 1949 on October 6, 1952 and
signed the following Additional Protocols on
December 12, 1977: Protocol I which applies
to the protection of victims of international
armed conflicts and Protocol II which
deals with the protection of victims of noninternational
armed conflicts. On December
11, 1986, the Philippines ratified Protocol II.
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