A Shiite resurgence in Iraq has generated a region-wide Sunni backlash, raising fears of an emerging sectarian rift that is colouring and aggravating local conflicts. After discussing the schism's origins, manifestations and implications, the author concludes that the primary battle in the region is not between Sunnis and Shiites but between the United States and Iran. A US–Iranian rapprochement would do much to reduce sectarian tensions, while the most effective long-term response to sectarianism itself will likely come from systemic restraints that exist in the form of countervailing loyalties that prevent any single allegiance, such as religious adherence, from becoming paramount.

There are thousands of families of missing persons around the world who search for answers as to the fate and whereabouts of their loved ones, hoping to be reunited with them, or in the event that they are deceased, to be able to mourn and grieve their death with dignity. In practice when authorities speak with families to confirm that the missing person is deceased, two initial questions frequently arise. First, families generally want to know, “did you identify the body of my relative?” The second question, once they receive information that their loved one has been positively identified as deceased, is usually, “how did they die?” This article examines whether international humanitarian law requires providing families of the missing, who may know or believe that their relative is deceased, with an answer to this second question of “how did they die?” The article argues that under certain circumstances, it is a requirement of international humanitarian law to provide some information about the cause, manner and circumstances of death to families. It also argues that the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement can strengthen the rights of families of the missing by engaging confidentially (directly or indirectly) with judicial bodies that are charged with both identification of the missing and accountability for violations of international humanitarian law. While this is challenging, it is argued that it is often possible to do so while respecting and adhering to the fundamental principles of the Movement, and, in turn, advancing the fundamental principle of humanity.

Over the last few decades, an extraordinary amount has changed in our understanding of the history of international humanitarian law (IHL). This article addresses the latest findings in this new historiography, placing contemporary IHL issues in a broader historical context and sharing the author's own experiences as a researcher exploring the discipline's practice from a historical perspective. Ultimately, he makes a passionate case for history – by showing why this discipline has a lot to offer for practitioners of international law.

The international community recently realized that certain types of emergency assistance could have negative effects on the still to come development phases. In that context, a theme has been brought under the limelight: the “emergency-development continuum”, underlying the need to design the activities in time of crisis taking into account the following stages.

Tel est le texte de l'article 34 de la Convention de Genève du 12 août 1949 relative à la protection des personnes civiles en temps de guerre. Si cet article est le plus court de tous ceux que la Conférence diplomatique a élaborés, il en est peu dont l'importance soit aussi grande; il met fin à une pratique qui répugne profondément à tout homme de cœur et il constitue un progrès remarquable dans le domaine du droit de la guerre.

Respect for international humanitarian law (IHL) comes in many forms, one of which is through the practice of domestic courts in addressing IHL-related cases. This article takes a closer look at the structural conditions necessary for the effective enforcement of IHL by domestic courts, elaborates on the spectrum of options that are available to national judges when faced with IHL-related cases, and describes the functional roles of courts in adopting a particular posture. It is demonstrated that even if the structural conditions are fulfilled, this will not necessarily result in the normative application of the law. It appears that national judges are in the process of defining their own roles as independent organs for overseeing the State's acts during armed conflicts. In that regard, the article outlines a few suggestions for future research on the choices courts make and the conditions necessary for them to effectively handle IHL-related cases.

L'apparence d'être plusieurs fois séculaire qu'ont les termes ius ad bellum et ius in bello, favorisée par les mirages de l'auguste solennité du latin, est trompeuse. En réalité ces termes n'apparaissent qu'à l'époque de la Société des Nations; ils ne s'imposent comme lieu commun dans la doctrine et la pratique qu'après la Seconde Guerre mondiale, et plus précisément à l'extrême fin des années quarante. L'objet des quelques lignes qui suivent est d'en retracer l'émergence.

In approaching this subject the most important thing to understand is how Afghans perceive things to be. On to this must be grafted factors about their environment, beliefs, and character that most affect their response. The physical characteristics of their environment are easy to define and describe, but their character, relationship to Islam, and how the two combine and affect their mode of warfare is more complex – a knot of truly Gordian proportions. However, if the past is accurately factored into the present, this enables contextual understanding, which is the key to unlocking the puzzle.

This Protocol relates to the use on land of the mines, booby-traps and other devices, defined herein, including mines laid to interdict beaches, waterway crossings or river crossings, but does not apply to the use of anti-ship mines at sea or in inland waterways.

The termination of captivity for reasons of health is one of the rights of prisoners of war stipulated by the Geneva Conventions.

Article 109 of the Third Convention lays down that Parties to the conflict are bound to send back to their own country, regardless of number or rank, seriously wounded and seriously sick prisoners of war.

The same article stipulates that the belligerent Parties shall endeavour to make arrangements for the “accommodation in neutral countries”, as a subsidiary solution, of all cases where captivity should be terminated for humanitarian reasons, but where, for military motives, the States concerned are unable to agree to repatriation. We are here above all thinking of aged prisoners, of those who have undergone a long period of captivity or of those whose mental health has deteriorated.

La Revue internationale de la Croix-Rouge a maintes fois marqué son souci de démontrer que l'idée profonde du mouvement de la Croix-Rouge — le respect de la personne et l'aide désinté-ressée à celui qui souffre — se trouve dans les philosophies, les religions ou dans les écrits des penseurs de l'Islam, de l'Inde et de l'Extrême-Orient et que cette idée humaine fait ainsi partie intégrante d'un mouvement universel de pensée et d'action.

Des esprits éprouves ont déjà apporté une précieuse collaboration à l'étude de ce grand thème et les exposés qu'elle a publiés contiennent un ensemble de témoignages d'une rare qualité et d'une haute conception philosophique.

In the history of humankind, no matter how far back we look into the past, peaceful relations between people and nations have always been the ideal, and yet this history abounds in wars and bloodshed. The documentary evidence, oral tradition and the mute testimony of archaeological sites tell an incontrovertible tale of man's cruelty and violence against his fellow man. Nevertheless, manifestations of compassion, mercy and mutual aid have a no less ancient record. Peace and war, goodneighbourly attitudes and aggression, brutality and humanity exist side by side in the contemporary world as well.

The often highly complex and fluid nature of displacement on the ground makes coverage of IDPs' needs a difficult task, and a flexible response is required to fit different contexts. The ICRC's humanitarian response is guided by the vulnerability and the needs of all people affected by armed conflict and violence – including, of course, IDPs, whose vulnerability is often (but not automatically) exacerbated by their particular situation. The protection and assistance of IDPs therefore naturally lies at the heart of the ICRC's mandate and activities. In identifying and responding to needs, the ICRC looks at the whole context in which internal displacement occurs, as well as all the people affected. The aim is to promote self-reliance among vulnerable communities so as to avoid displacement, or to strengthen their capacity to host IDPs. Nevertheless, where needed, the ICRC also fills gaps by providing emergency aid in IDP camps, coordinating with other international organizations in order to optimize response.

This article documents the work of Islamic charities and NGOs from diverse backgrounds to develop sets of principles guiding their humanitarian and charitable work, in the framework of the dialogue and cooperation among Islamic NGOs and charities as well as between Islamic and Western humanitarian agencies. The authors look at draft documents that resulted from these processes, and the way these relate to the core principles of humanitarian action. They further follow how the dialogue and cooperation between humanitarian organizations from different backgrounds and origins has influenced the orientation of this debate on humanitarian principles from theory and identity to concrete and shared challenges and concerns.

Riot control agents and expanding bullets are the only two kinds of weapon and ammunition that are used for law enforcement purposes but are explicitly prohibited in the conduct of hostilities. This article justifies this difference in treatment with two arguments. First, riot control agents and expanding bullets have different effects on the human body depending on their specific types and the circumstances in which they are deployed. Second, the issues raised by their use differ according to whether they are employed for law enforcement purposes or in the conduct of hostilities.

As an emerging and largely unfamiliar form of cultural heritage, digital cultural property remains something of an enigma. Under the law of armed conflict, States are bound to protect cultural property from harm, yet the rules applicable to traditional cultural property do not transfer neatly to digital works. It is unclear, for example, how the twin obligations to safeguard and respect cultural property, as outlined in the 1954 Hague Cultural Property Convention, should apply to digital creations – or even what digital material appropriately qualifies as cultural property. Can only new digital creations, otherwise known as “born-digital” material, be cultural property? What about high-quality copies of existing works, such as an extremely high-resolution image of the Mona Lisa? Does it matter whether a digital work has been reproduced in large quantities? Given the ubiquity of digital media and the growing popularity of digital art and other works, protecting digital cultural property in the event of armed conflict will require States to consider and resolve as-yet undecided questions concerning the nature of digital creations and the reasons why certain works should be preserved.

This paper examines the legality and limits of security detention in armed conflict situations. It particularly investigates the issues of whether the protection of national security is a legitimate ground to restrict the right to liberty of persons in situations of international or non-international armed conflict, and if so, what are the limits to a State's prerogative to restrict the right to liberty of individuals suspected of threatening its national security. On the basis of a thorough analysis of the relevant extant rules of international law regulating warfare, the paper concludes that security detention is permissible in armed conflict situations regardless of whether the nature of the conflict is international or non-international. However, the prerogative of a State to impose security detention is circumscribed by a plethora of fundamental substantive and procedural safeguards against arbitrariness that are provided in the different rules of international humanitarian law and international human rights law. These safeguards affirm that the search for absolute security is neither desirable nor attainable and that the mere invocation of security concerns does not grant an absolute power to restrict or suspend the liberty of individuals in armed conflict situations. Whenever it is imposed, security detention should be preventive in nature, and must aim at safeguarding the basic national security interests of a State from serious, future, direct and imminent threats related to the armed conflict situation. Detainees should also be able to challenge its legality before a competent organ at the initial or later stage of the detention through a system of periodic review.

The Central Tracing Agency is a permanent and integral part of the International Committee of the Red Cross. Yet it retains an autonomous character during conflicts, as laid down in the four Geneva Conventions.

It is the duty of the Central Tracing Agency to carry out the mandate entrusted in time of war to the two central information agencies mentioned in Article 123 of the Third Convention and Article 140 of the Fourth Convention, namely: the central information agency for prisoners of war, and the central information agency for civilian internees and other protected persons. The Geneva Conventions contain about twenty–five articles relating to the role of these agencies, their relations with the Detaining Power, with the “Power of origin”, with the captives and with their families.

We take pleasure in publishing the following study which was written in the spring of 1971. Some passages, as readers will observe, are no longer topical, such as the information given on the Conference of Government Experts, for our readers will know that, the 1971 conference is being followed by a second session from 3 May to 3 June 1972, in Geneva.

The study appeared in L'Univers politique 1970, and we express our thanks to the Editions Richelieu, Paris, for authorizing reproduction in our Review. (Ed.)