International Humanitarian Law (IHL)
entirely at peace for 268 of them, or just 8% of
- A branch of public international law that, in
times of armed conflict, seek for
humanitarian reasons to protect persons
who are not or no longer participating in
hostilities, and to restrict means and
methods of warfare.
- It consists of international treaty or customary
rules that are specifically meant to resolve
humanitarian issues arising directly from
armed conflict, whether IAC OR NIAC.
- Law of armed conflict, law of war
- aims to protect human dignity, reduce
suffering
Protected Persons:
Sick
Wounded
Shipwrecked
Prisoners of war
Other detained persons
Civilians
*Protection of civilians is binding for all parties to
armed conflict, State and Non-State
*Civilians must not be attacked under any
circumstances, they are entitled to humanitarian aid,
and protection extends to their public and private
property
Note: such protection will be lost when such property
is used to help the enemy or if it contains emblems of
the enemy.
*Avoid attacks that result in civilian casualties
*Avoid defensive measures that put civilians in
danger
IHL CONCERNS:
International armed conflict (IAC)
Non-international armed conflicts that take
place within one country (NIAC)
* IHL applies to all parties to a conflict regardless of
who started it and regardless of formal declarations
on the existence of an armed conflict.
HOW DOES IHL PROTECT?
1. Requires parties to distinguish between fighters
and civilians
- Prohibit attacks on civilians
- Prohibits indiscriminate attacks and the use of
weapons that do not distinguish
2. Requires are for the wounded and sick and
protects medical personnel
3. Aims to promote dignity of those affected by
armed conflict
4. Prohibits or limits the use of weapons that are
particularly cruel (causes unnecessary suffering)
REALITY OF WAR
- Over the past 3,400 years, humans have been
recorded history.
DISTINCTION
PROPORTIONALITY
AP I Art. 51 (5). Among others, the ff types of
attacks are to be considered indiscriminate:
(a) An attack by bombardment by any methods or
means which treats as a single military
objective a number of clearly separated and
distinct military objectives located in a city,
town, village or other area containing a similar
concentration of civilians or civilian objects;
(b) An attack which may be expected to cause
incidental loss of civilian life, injury to
civilians, damage to civilian objects, or a
combination thereof, which would be
excessive in relation to the concrete and direct
military advantage anticipated.
PRECAUTIONS: (ART. 57 AP I)
(i) Do everything feasible to verify that the
objectives to be attacked are neither civilians
nor civilian objects and are not subject to
special protection but are military objectives
within the meaning of par. 2 of Art. 52 and that
it is not prohibited by the provisions of this
Protocol to attack them;
(ii) Take all feasible precautions in the choice of a
and methods of attack with a view to avoiding,
and in any event to minimizing, incidental loss
of civilian life, injury to civilians and damage to
civilian objects;
(iii) Refrain from deciding to launch any attack
which may be expected to cause incidental loss
of civilian life, injury to civilians, damage to
civilian objects, or a combination thereof,
which would be excessive in relation to the
concrete and direct military advantage
anticipated
LIMITATIONS ON MEANS AND METHODS OF
WARFARE
- The right of the parties to the conflict to choose
methods and means of warfare is not
unlimited
- It is prohibited to employ means and methods
of warfare of a nature to cause superfluous
injury or unnecessary suffering
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN IHL AND IHRL
IHL
Only in times of armed conflict
Holds accountable all parties to the conflict,
including states and non-state actors, as well
as individuals
Protects human dignity and deals with
conduct of hostilities
Use of lethal force permitted by military
necessity
Absolutely non-derogable
IHRL
Both in times of peace and armed conflict
 Holds accountable only states through their
governments
Protects human dignity
Lethal force only if absolutely necessary (self-
defense or defense of others, for example
Permits derogation of some rights during
public emergency
SOURCES OF IHL
Four Geneva Conventions of 1949
Additional Protocols 1&2 of 1977
Additional Protocol 3 of 2005
Other treaties, which restrict means and methods
of warfare (Hague Conventions, Ottawa treaty,
Convention on Cluster Munitions, etc.)
Customary law
CONFLICTS IN THE PHILIPPINES
NIACs in the Philippines:
1. GRP vs. NPA
- CA3, customary law, APII applicable
2. GRP vs MILF
- CA3, customary law, APII applicable
3. GRP vs MNLF
- CA3, customary law, APII applicable
4. GRP vs. BIFF
- Common Article 3, customary law
- APII not applicable (no control over a
territory)
5. GRP vs ASG
- Common Article 3, customary law
- APII not applicable (no control over a
territory)
19 Fundamental guarantees to those who are not or
no longer participating in hostilities during armed
conflict:
1. Humane treatment
2. Non-discrimination (except in case of urgent
need)
3. Prohibition of violence to life and person in
particular, murder of all kinds
4. Prohibition of Torture, Cruel, Inhumane or
degrading treatment
5. Prohibition of corporal punishment
6. Prohibition of mutilation, medical or
scientific experiments or any other medical
procedure
7. Prohibition of rape and other forms of
sexual violence (non-discriminatory)
8. Prohibition of slavery and slave trade in all
their forms
9. Prohibition of uncompensated or abusive
forced labor
10. Prohibition of taking hostages
11. Prohibition against the use of humans
shields (intentional co-location of military
objectives & protected persons)
12. Prohibition against enforced
disappearance
13. Prohibition of arbitrary deprivation of
liberty (valid grounds for initial and
continued detention)
14. Right to fair trial
15. Principle of legality
16. Requirement of individual criminal
responsibility (personal commission)
17. Prohibition of collective punishments
18. Respect for convictions and religious
practices
19. Respect for family life
IHL Protection for WOMEN & CHILDREN
- Combatants as wounded and sick/
captured/detained
- Civilians
*Parties to an armed conflict are required to permit
the free passage of consignments of essential food
and clothing for:
Children under 15
Expectant mothers
Mothers of young children particularly
nursing mothers
*Parties to an armed conflict are encouraged to adopt
practices to ensure the physical safety of pregnant
women and may establish safety zones for pregnant
women and mothers of young children
Women shall be protected against:
Outrages against personal dignity (humiliating
and degrading treatment)
Enforced prostitution
Rape
Any form of indecent assault
IHL Special Protection for Children
It is a war crime to recruit children to join
armed groups
Child is defined as someone below 15 years of
age
The Philippines adheres to 18 years old as the
age of maturity
Optional protocol to the convention on the
rights of child raised the age of prohibition
from 15 years old to 18 years old.
PROTECTION OF HORS DE COMBAT
A person hors de combat is someone who is
no longer participating in hostilities by choice
or circumstance
A person can be placed hors de combat when:
1. He/she is in the power of an adverse
party
2. He/she is defenseless because of
unconsciousness shipwreck wounds
or sickness
3. He/ she has clearly indicated an
intention to surrender
What constitutes Direct Participation in
hostilities?
attacking enemy
capturing equipment
laying mines
sabotaging
tactical intelligence
collection on the battlefield
care and feeding of troops
ammunition/weapons factory production
Promoting respect for the civilian population
- reminding parties to the conflict of their
obligation under international humanitarian
law to spare the lives of civilians and to treat
them with humanity and dignity
- maintaining confidential dialogue with parties
to armed conflict about the way they conduct
hostilities
Prohibited acts during NIAC
1. Committing violence to life and person
willful killings, mutilation, cruel treatment and
torture
2. Committing outrages upon personal dignity
humiliating and degrading treatment
3. Taking of hostages
4. Passing of sentences and carrying out of
executions without previous judgment
pronounced by a regularly constituted court
5. Intentionally directing attacks against the
civilian population and civilian objects
6. Intentionally directing attacks against
buildings, medical units and transports,
personnel using the Red Cross/Crescent/
Crystal emblems
7. Launching an attack in the knowledge that it
will cause widespread, long term and severe
damage to the natural environment
8. Launching an attack against works or
installations containing dangerous forces
9. Attacking by whatever means towns, villages,
dwellings or buildings which are not military
objectives
10. Killing or wounding a person that is hors de
combat
11. Perfidy
12. Intentionally directing attacks against
buildings dedicated to religion, education, art,
science, charitable purposes, historic
monuments, hospitals that are not military
objectives
13. Subjecting persons to physical mutilation or to
medical or scientific experiments, or to
removal of tissue or organs for transplantation
14. Pillaging a town or place
15. Ordering the displacement of civilian
population, unless security of civilians and
imperative military reasons so demand
16. Employing means of warfare which are
prohibited under IHL
Command Responsibility:
- There is individual criminal responsibility
Responsibility of superiors a superior shall be
responsible as principal for such crimes committed by
subordinates, where:
a) that superior wither knew or, owing to the
circumstances at the time, should have known
that the subordinates were committing or
about to commit such crimes;
b) that superior failed to take all necessary and
reasonable measures within his/her power to
prevent or repress their commission or to
submit the matter to the competent
authorities for investigation and prosecution
REPUBLIC ACT 10530
Act Defining the Use and Protection of the Red Cross,
Red Crescent and Red Crystal Emblems, Providing
Protection for Violations Thereof
USE OF THE EMBLEMS:
Protective in armed conflict
- Visible sign of protection
- Should be as large as possible with no other
information
Indicative mainly in peace time
- Shows link to the Movement
- Small and must bear additional information
Protective Use by the AFP Medical Service and
Religious Personnel
o AFP Medical Personnel
- Can use the emblem in both peacetime and
times of armed conflict to identify its medical
personnel, units and transports on the
ground, sea, air
- AFP Medical Personnel shall wear armlets
and carry identity cards displaying the Red
Cross emblem
o AFP Religious Personnel
- Shall be afforded the same protection
- Shall be identified in the same way
Use by Hospitals and other Civilian Medical
Units and Transports
- The DOH, in consultation with the PRC, shall
authorize the use of the Red Cross emblem
only in times of conflict
- DND shall authorize medical personnel, units
and transport of uniformed personnel in
government other than AFP to be marked
with the emblem only in times of armed
conflict
 Use by the PRC, ICRC, and IFRC - ICRC plays no role in the prosecution and
punishment of crimes covered by RA 9851
o PRC
Individual Responsibility individuals are
- Is authorized to use the emblem as a
criminally responsible for violations
protective device for its medical personnel
and units

o ICRC AND IFRC

- May make use of the emblems at any time
and for all their activities

CONTROL AND PENALTIES

DND, DOH, and DTI shall ensure strict

compliance
take appropriate steps to prevent misuse
disseminate the rules as widely as possible
among the armed forces, police, government
agencies and civilian population
PRC shall cooperate with DND, DOH, DTI in
their efforts to prevent/repress misuse

Misuse is defined as:

Willfully and without entitlement
- Make use of the Red Cross, Red Crescent, Red
Crystal emblems
- Make use of the words Red Cross, Red
Crescent, Red Crystal
- Make use of the translations of the words Red
Cross, Red Crescent, Red Crystal in any official
language and dialect

PENALTIES
Ordinary misuse does not result in death
or serious bodily harm
Arresto mayor (1 month and one day to
6 months of imprisonment)
PhP 50,000 fine

Misuse results in death or serious bodily

harm
Reclusion perpetua (20 years and 1 day
to 40 years of imprisonment)
PhP 500,000 to PhP 1,000,000 fine

RA 9851
AN ACT DEFINING AND PENALIZING CRIMES
AGAINST INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW,
GENOCIDE AND OTHER CRIMES AGAINST
HUMANITY, ORGANIZING JURISDICTION,
DESIGNATING SPECIAL COURTS, AND FOR RELATED
PURPOSES
- Signed on 11 December 2009, penalizes
crimes against IHL, Genocide, & Other crimes
against Humanity
- RTC have the jurisdiction
- State responsibility for training judges,
prosecutors, and investigators
- Reclusion perpetua and PhP 1,000,000
fine are the maximum penalties