International Humanitarian Law (IHL)

International Humanitarian Law (IHL) is a set of rules designed to mitigate the human suffering caused by armed conflicts. It safeguards individuals who are not or are no longer taking part in hostilities, and it regulates the means and methods of warfare by banning weapons that fail to distinguish between combatants and civilians, as well as those that cause superfluous injury or excessive damage. These rules bind all parties to a conflict, including states, armed forces, and non-state armed groups. The core instruments of IHL are the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their two Additional Protocols of 1977. IHL is also referred to as the law of war or the law of armed conflict and forms a part of international law. It does not address the legality of using force, which is governed by the UN Charter and the distinct body of law on the use of force.