Teaching young people the basic principles of International Humanitarian Law

The Exploring Humanitarian Law (EHL) Virtual Campus is an ICRC resource centre for educators who want to:

• teach the values underpinning international humanitarian law, such as respect for life and human dignity
• explore with their students the ethical and humanitarian issues that arise during armed conflict
• develop their students' capacity to analyze complex situations
• use high-quality primary source materials (videos, photos, letters, etc.) to help students capture the feeling of people who lived through difficult situations

When does IHL apply?

IHL applies in all situations of armed conflict. There are a number of different scenarios that can be defined as armed conflict. A number of factors have to be taken into account before characterizing a situation as an armed conflict and therefore subject to the rules of IHL.

It is a widely accepted principle that any difference between opposing parties that leads to the use of armed force results in armed conflict. An armed conflict may be either ‘international' (between two or more States) or ‘non-international' (between governmental authorities and organized armed groups or between such groups within a State). It is important to stress that one type of armed conflict can also develop into the other.

For IHL to apply, the de facto occurrence of hostilities is sufficient, even without a formal declaration of war and even if one of the parties denies the existence of a state of war.

IHL does not apply in situations of internal violence, such as demonstrations, disturbances, riots or internal tensions. However, it is often difficult to make a clear distinction between non-international armed conflicts and such situations.

Source: IHL Guide