{"id":49311,"date":"2026-08-13T16:52:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T16:52:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uomosul.edu.iq\/en\/rights\/?p=49311"},"modified":"2026-08-13T16:52:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T16:52:13","slug":"on-the-anniversary-of-the-signing-of-the-four-geneva-conventions-august-12-1949-application-of-international-humanitarian-law-field-challenges-and-compliance-mechanisms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uomosul.edu.iq\/en\/rights\/2026\/08\/13\/on-the-anniversary-of-the-signing-of-the-four-geneva-conventions-august-12-1949-application-of-international-humanitarian-law-field-challenges-and-compliance-mechanisms\/","title":{"rendered":"On the Anniversary of the Signing of the Four Geneva Conventions, August 12, 1949&#8230;  Application of International Humanitarian Law: Field Challenges and Compliance Mechanisms"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><strong><span class=\"\">Dr. Ziyad Abdulwahab Al-Nuaimi<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><span class=\"\">College of Law \/ University of Mosul<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><span class=\"\">International humanitarian law is defined as that important part of public international law which concerns armed conflicts, whether international or non-international in character. It comprises a set of customary and treaty rules that govern the conduct of belligerents engaged in an armed conflict when exercising their rights and duties. International humanitarian law consists primarily of customary and treaty sources, in addition to other sources such as general principles, international jurisprudence, and legal doctrine. As for treaty sources, they derive from two main foundations: first, the Hague Conventions, and second, the Geneva Conventions. Therefore, it excludes from its scope the rules of international human rights law, which may be encompassed by this law in its broad and extensive sense.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><span class=\"\">As for\u00a0<\/span><strong><span class=\"\">Hague Law<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"\">: it is the set of provisions contained in the Hague Conventions of 1899\u20131907, which aim to establish general rules concerning the conduct of war, the means used in combat, and the determination of belligerents&#8217; rights. These are two international conventions discussed during two separate peace conferences held in The Hague: the First Hague Conference in 1899 and the Second Hague Conference in 1907, including the Convention Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land of 1907.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><span class=\"\">As for the\u00a0<\/span><strong><span class=\"\">Geneva Conventions<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"\">: they are the set of treaty texts established by the four Geneva Conventions of August 12, 1949, the two Additional Protocols of 1977, and the Third Protocol of 2005.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><strong><span class=\"\">The Substantive Development of the Geneva Conventions<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><span class=\"\">The original Geneva Conventions of 1864, concerning the &#8220;Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field,&#8221; were established for the first time upon the proposal of Henry Dunant, founder of the International Committee of the Red Cross. Then came the Geneva Convention of 1906 concerning the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded and Sick Military Personnel in the Field, and the two Geneva Conventions of 1929\u2014the First and Second\u2014concerning the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick and the Treatment of Prisoners of War. As for the four Geneva Conventions established on this day, August 12, 1949, they include the following:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><strong><span class=\"\">The First Convention<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"\">: for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><strong><span class=\"\">The Second Convention<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"\">: for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick, and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><strong><span class=\"\">The Third Geneva Convention<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"\">: concerning the Treatment of Prisoners of War.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><strong><span class=\"\">The Fourth Convention<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"\">: concerning the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><span class=\"\">This day was a pivotal moment in the history of international humanitarian law, as it laid down the foundations and rules of a convention that addressed armed conflicts in all their forms, regulated the rights and duties of armed forces, clarified the role of each party in adhering to and operating under these rules, and ensured that belligerents&#8217; conduct conformed to them. This is particularly significant given that the broad field of armed conflicts may lead warring parties to deviate from the rules, fail to comply with them, or apply them improperly, resulting in the abandonment of moral and legal responsibility.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><span class=\"\">The rules brought forth by these conventions\u2014whether codified or newly established\u2014included expanding the scope of the conventions to cover the\u00a0<\/span><strong><span class=\"\">material scope<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"\">, such as international armed conflicts without a declaration of war, and non-international armed conflicts. This was achieved as a lesson learned from the Spanish Civil War, which demonstrated the difficulty of applying the earlier Geneva treaties. In addition to expanding the material scope of armed conflicts, the personal scope was also broadened.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><strong><span class=\"\">Challenges of International Humanitarian Law in the Field<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><span class=\"\">The application of international conventions faces numerous challenges arising from conflicts, individuals, and belligerent conduct. This means that difficulties may sometimes lie in the application of this law, as well as difficulties related to the personal scope, protection of civilians, and other challenges.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><span class=\"\">The most prominent challenge facing international humanitarian law is the successive and evolving conflicts, particularly those of a non-international character, and the significant overlap in such conflicts, necessitating the effective application of the law\u2014whether between regular forces and dissident forces, or between warring parties within the borders of a single state. The complexity has increased with the development of this type of conflict in legal characterization, through the emergence of a new type of conflict termed\u00a0<\/span><strong><span class=\"\">hybrid conflict<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"\">\u00a0or\u00a0<\/span><strong><span class=\"\">internationalized armed conflict<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"\">, which represents a complex and difficult composition for legal characterization, especially given its basis in internal armed conflict and its development in an international direction when external parties support and fuel this type of conflict at the expense of the other party, within the borders of a state. This has given rise to doctrinal questions and judicial practices that have attempted to characterize internationalized armed conflict according to the rules of international humanitarian law, distinguishing it from the two traditional types of known conflicts. It therefore represents a new challenge added to the others.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><span class=\"\">Furthermore, the successive development in the use of advanced weapons, cyber warfare, states&#8217; technological capabilities, their capacity for indirect confrontation, and the use of modern technologies have made this development a serious challenge to these conventions and their development. These conventions must have a role in determining the levels, outcomes, and effects of such conflicts through the protection of rights and duties, especially since these electronic conflicts represent a new aspect that was not known when these rules were established.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><span class=\"\">In addition, human rights violations represent a fundamental aspect of conflicts and a broad field for such violations. Therefore, the Fourth Geneva Convention constitutes the basis or legal framework for the protection of civilian victims during such conflicts, particularly women and children, as they are the vulnerable party in this equation and the most affected by such conflicts. Especially since numerous violations have accompanied international or non-international conflicts, prompting the establishment of ad hoc international tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, which addressed and clarified the international community&#8217;s position on those heinous and serious violations. These preceded the establishment of the International Criminal Court under the Rome Statute of 1998, which constitutes the international criminal judicial system that punishes on the basis of individual criminal responsibility and concerns itself with victims, prosecuting individuals and persons proven to have committed crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide, or the crime of aggression.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><span class=\"\">Another challenge arises from the refusal of one of the parties to armed conflicts to recognize the rules of international humanitarian law and its failure to apply the Geneva Conventions in the field, which constitutes another obstacle in the scope of necessary protection for those who fall victim to such conflicts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"ds-markdown-paragraph\"><span class=\"\">The greatest challenge facing the Geneva Conventions today, in addition to legislative shortcomings or what is termed\u00a0<\/span><strong><span class=\"\">treaty lacunae<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"\">\u2014i.e., shortcomings in the rules\u2014also includes deficiencies in international monitoring mechanisms and permanent follow-up to review, rectify, and revise the rules in line with current and future developments, and the extent to which the material scope of their provisions can be broadened to encompass all that we have mentioned above. This represents a challenge that does not diminish the importance of these conventions, nor their application, because these conventions constitute a significant, pivotal, and necessary historical achievement commensurate with armed conflict situations. They represent notable progress in the application of treaty-based international humanitarian law and constitute an important stage in the qualitative development of the application of these rules on both the material and personal levels. They are an achievement that addresses much of the pain, violations, and crimes committed during conflicts, enhances human rights in the field, spares them any negative effects, distances them from any harm befalling them, and achieves the goal of international humanitarian law in realizing the principle of humanity, which is the first and most important principle embodied in these conventions.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dr. Ziyad Abdulwahab Al-Nuaimi College of Law \/ University of Mosul International humanitarian law is defined as that important part of public international law which concerns armed conflicts, whether international or non-international in character. It comprises a set of customary and treaty rules that govern the conduct of belligerents engaged in an armed conflict when exercising their rights and duties. International humanitarian law consists primarily of customary and treaty sources, in addition to other sources such as general principles, international jurisprudence, and legal doctrine. As for treaty sources, they derive from two main foundations: first, the Hague Conventions, and second, the <a href=\"https:\/\/uomosul.edu.iq\/en\/rights\/2026\/08\/13\/on-the-anniversary-of-the-signing-of-the-four-geneva-conventions-august-12-1949-application-of-international-humanitarian-law-field-challenges-and-compliance-mechanisms\/\"> [Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":49312,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uomosul.edu.iq\/en\/rights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uomosul.edu.iq\/en\/rights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uomosul.edu.iq\/en\/rights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uomosul.edu.iq\/en\/rights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uomosul.edu.iq\/en\/rights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49311"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/uomosul.edu.iq\/en\/rights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49311\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49313,"href":"https:\/\/uomosul.edu.iq\/en\/rights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49311\/revisions\/49313"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uomosul.edu.iq\/en\/rights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uomosul.edu.iq\/en\/rights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uomosul.edu.iq\/en\/rights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uomosul.edu.iq\/en\/rights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}