The legal limits of war through the eyes of the Red Cross: discussing IHL with advocates

How the rules of international humanitarian law work during armed conflict and what they mean for the protection of people and legal practice was explained to advocates during an online training session on «International humanitarian law: the legal limits of war».

The event was organized by Dnipropetrovsk regional representatives of the UNBA NextGen Alevtina Bashkueva, Anna Tsurkan and Yulia Protopop, in cooperation with the Ukrainian Red Cross Society.

The Society's leading expert Svitlana Poberizhnyk outlined the basic framework of international humanitarian law: when it applies, who it binds, what sources form the rules of «the law of war», and how IHL relates to international human rights law. She also explained the role and functions of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement in the system of humanitarian protection during armed conflicts.

In particular, the lecturer discussed the Red Cross emblem as an instrument of IHL and a practical marker of protection. She explained the difference between the protective use of the emblem, when the designation is intended to indicate medical or spiritual personnel, medical units, or sanitary transport, thereby signaling their special status under the rules of war, and the distinctive use, when the emblem indicates the affiliation of persons or objects to the international movement.

In this context, S. Poberizhnyk pointed out that the right to use the emblem for protection is strictly regulated both in peacetime and during armed conflict. Using the example of the Geneva Conventions and the Law "On the Symbols of the Red Cross, Red Crescent, Red Crystal in Ukraine," she showed who exactly and under what conditions can use the emblem as a means of legal protection, in particular in the activities of medical services and personnel, as well as in cases of involvement of medical units and transport of the national society with the permission and under the control of the competent authorities. Separately, it was noted that not only the emblem is protected, but also the names «Red Cross» and «Geneva Cross», which cannot be used arbitrarily.

Volunteer Yuriy Bondarchuk of the Society spoke about the practical aspects of applying IHL in the current conflict. He explained how the legal regime of occupation works, what obligations the occupying state has towards the civilian population, life support and the medical sphere, and outlined general approaches to distinguishing between the statuses of persons in IHL and to determining objects that are subject to special protection.

In particular, he addressed the issue of direct participation of civilians in hostilities and the related legal consequences. He explained that civilians enjoy protection from attacks, but in the event of direct participation in hostilities, they may lose this protection for the duration of such participation.

The lecturer focused on distinguishing between direct participation (sabotage, erecting barricades, taking prisoners, interfering with computers) and actions that may constitute general support for military efforts but do not in themselves constitute a direct attempt to harm the enemy (financial support, cooking, working in production).