The ICRC and international humanitarian law.

War is so awful that it makes us cynical about the possibility of restraint, and then it is so much worse that it makes us indignant at the absence of restraint. Our cynicism testifies to the defectiveness of the war convention, and our indignation to its reality and strength. No century [compared to the twentieth century] has had better norms and worse realities. Apparently the phrase “international humanitarian law” (IHL) was first used by the ICRC in 1953. In this chapter I will first show that there remains a lack of clarity about the precise scope of IHL. Then I will show that there is often confusion about its relation to international human rights law (HRL). Finally I will show that in relation to IHL the ICRC exercises three roles by whatever name: helping to develop the law, helping to disseminate the principles and rules of the law, and helping to apply the law. The central point of this chapter is not to provide a legal commentary on the specifics of IHL, but rather to discuss its practical relevance to victims of conflicts through the efforts of the ICRC. A theme running throughout this chapter is that one can overemphasize IHL as a technical legal subject compared to humanitarian diplomacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]