IHL Treaties

🕊 Core IHL Treaties (Law of Geneva)

1. The Geneva Conventions of 1949

The Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols set out the essential rules of international humanitarian law by protecting people not taking part in hostilities (civilians, medical or religious personnel, employees of humanitarian organizations) or no longer taking part (the wounded, sick or shipwrecked, prisoners of war). They have been universally ratified. Article 3 common to the four conventions extended the scope of international humanitarian law to non-international armed conflicts, a breakthrough in the field.

  • Convention I – Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field [English] [Ukrainian]

  • Convention II – Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea [English] [Ukrainian]

  • Convention III – Treatment of Prisoners of War [English] [Ukrainian]

  • Convention IV – Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War [English] [Ukrainian]

2. Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions (1977 & 2005)

The two Additional Protocols of 1977 bolster the protection afforded to victims of international and non-international armed conflicts. Protocol II is the first international legal instrument devoted wholly to non-international armed conflicts. Protocol III of 2005 concerns the adoption of an additional distinctive emblem, the red crystal and grants it the same international status as the emblems of the red cross and red crescent.

  • Protocol I (1977) – Protection of Victims in International Armed Conflicts [English] [Ukrainian]

  • Protocol II (1977) – Protection of Victims in Non‑International Armed Conflicts [English] [Ukrainian]

  • Protocol III (2005) – Adoption of an Additional Distinctive Emblem [English] [Ukrainian]

🔖 Additional Key IHL Treaties & Instruments

3. Hague Conventions

These early treaties set out fundamental rules on the conduct of hostilities, including methods and means of warfare, and remain a bedrock of IHL (often referred to as “Hague Law”). The provisions and annexed regulations of the two Hague Conventions are part of customary international law and are therefore binding on all states, even those which have not ratified them.

  • Hague Convention II respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land (1899) [English] [Ukrainian]
  • Hague Convention IV respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land (1907) [English] [Ukrainian]

4. Unconventional weapons

Nuclear, radiological, biological and chemical weapons are unconventional weapons. Owing to their uncontrollable effects, they are often called weapons of mass destruction, but the term has no real definition under international humanitarian law.

  • Geneva Protocol on Asphyxiating Gases and Bacteriological Methods of Warfare of 1925. [English] [Ukrainian] The first international treaty prohibiting the use of chemical and biological weapons. The protocol bans the use of such weapons, but does not prohibit their development, production or possession.
  • Biological Weapons Convention of 1972 [English] [Ukrainian] prohibits not just the use, but also the production and stockpiling of biological and chemical weapons. 
  • Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993 [English] [Ukrainian] bans the development, production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons and stipulates for the destruction of chemical weapons production facilities along with the weapons themselves. 

5. Conventional Weapons 

Conventional weapons are all weapons except nuclear, radiological, chemical and biological ones.

  • Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention of 1997. [English] [Ukrainian] Prohibits the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines and stipulates for their destruction. 
  • Convention on Cluster Munitions of 2008. [English] [Ukrainian] Prohibits the use, stockpiling, and transfer of cluster munitions and stipulates for their destruction.
  • Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) of 1980, and its additional Protocols (I-III of 1980, IV of 1995, V of 2003) [English] [Ukrainian]

6. Cultural Property

  • 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict [English] [Ukrainian]

Includes the main treaty and two protocols (1954 & 1999) safeguarding cultural heritage during armed conflict.

  • Protocol I, 1954 [English] [Ukrainian]

  • Protocol II, 1999 [English] [Ukrainian]