Full text in PDF format - International Committee of the Red Cross

Dissemination of International
Humanitarian Law
Irrespective of the rule to be applied in a given situation, the parties to a conflict
need to be familiar with such rule before actually being in a position to observe it.
Therefore, the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, as well as other
international humanitarian law treaties, regularly urge States to disseminate their
rules as much as possible. Though essential, the fact of disseminating international
humanitarian law rules does not suffice. In furtherance of the very objective of
international humanitarian law, i.e., limiting violence, dissemination of international
humanitarian law entails a comprehensive and consistent strategy which takes
into account the specific aspects of the context where it is deployed. It may not
be imposed externally; rather, it should be a part of the ongoing effort that States
and their societies make. It implies cross-sectional integration of international
humanitarian law into military doctrine of the armed forces and into course
syllabuses as far as academic teaching is concerned.
Integration of International
Humanitarian Law by the Armed
Forces
The integration of international humanitarian
law by the armed forces
is a mandatory part of the national
implementation of the treaties.
It seeks to translate international
rules into specific mechanisms that
ensure the protection of people
and property in the event of armed
conflict. For members of the armed
forces to act in accordance with the
rules of international humanitarian
law, these must be integrated in
military doctrine, military training,
instruction, behaviour, systematic
operational procedures and choice
of weapons.
Argentina has a national plan in
the form of a series of hierarchically
organized orders and provisions intended
to ensure compliance with
the dissemination and teaching of
international humanitarian law at
all levels. In 200 , the Ministry of
Defence started assessing the progress
made in the integration of international
humanitarian law.
In Bolivia, the armed forces assessed
the progress made in their attempt
to integrate international humanitarian
law by reformulating the per-
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Report on the Participation of the States in the Relevant Treaties Concerning
International Humanitarian Law and its National Implementation