14. Conventional arms control

Chapter:

14. Conventional arms control

Source:

SIPRI Yearbook 2017

Author(s):

Ian Davis

The Geneva Conventions are an international benchmark for behaviour during armed conflict. In 2011 the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) initiated a multi-year project to update a series of commentaries that provide guidance to states on how to interpret and implement the conventions. The first update is on the Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field, and is part of a series of commentaries that will consider changes in the nature of armed conflict. As discussed in section I, one of the most important issues addressed in the updated commentaries is how to apply the Geneva Conventions in non-international armed conflicts. Other key issues are how to safeguard the impartiality of humanitarian relief, attacks on healthcare workers and the increasing use of military force and violence in populated areas.