International Humanitarian Law
The International Committee of the Red Cross defines international humanitarian law as “a set of rules which seek, for humanitarian reasons, to limit the effects of armed conflict. It protects persons who are not or are no longer participating in the hostilities and restricts the means and methods of warfare.”
As drug law enforcement in many countries around the world has become more and more militarised, and as terrorist and armed groups have increasingly been funded by the drug trade, the nexus between international humanitarian law and drug control laws and policies has become more and more important.
International Humanitarian Law, as with other branches of international law finds its source in customary international law and international treaties. The core humanitarian treaties are the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their additional protocols of 1977 and 2005.
Additional protocol II is of particular relevance to the reality of the ‘war on drugs’, being the first international treaty to specifically cover non-international armed conflicts.
1949 Conventions
Convention (III) relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War. Geneva, 12 August 1949
1977 Additional Protocols
2005 Additional Protocol