The analysis identifies four areas of IHL in which, in the view of the ICRC, humanitarian concerns are not adequately addressed by existing IHL and where IHL should therefore be strengthened - namely the protection of detainees, of internally displaced persons and of the environment in armed conflict, and the mechanisms of compliance with IHL.

At the same time, the report seeks to give an update on some of the issues that had been addressed in the previous reports and remain of ongoing interest.Īnother report submitted to the Conference, entitled 'Strengthening Legal Protection of Victims of Armed Conflict', summarizes the results of a process of research and reflection conducted by the ICRC since 2008 on the adequacy of existing IHL to protect the victims of contemporary armed conflicts.

The ICRC therefore selected a number of issues which were not addressed in previous reports but which are increasingly the focus of interest among States and for the ICRC, such as new technologies in warfare or the drafting of the new Arms Trade Treaty. This report, like its predecessors, can only address a part of the ongoing challenges to IHL.

These reports aim to provide an overview of some of the challenges posed by contemporary armed conflicts for IHL, to generate broader reflection on those challenges and to outline ongoing or prospective ICRC action, positions and interest. This is the third report on 'International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and the Challenges of Contemporary Armed Conflicts' prepared by the ICRC for an International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, the first two having been submitted to the 28th and 30th International Conferences in Geneva, in December 2003 and November 2007, respectively.

Armed conflict human rights challenges