25 vears have passed since the adoption in 1977 of the two Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions. In the long history of efforts to secure better protection for the individual in armed conflicts, the adoption of these Protocols was a milestone. They took into account new realities such as the emergence of guerrilla warfare and advances in weapon technology, which threatened to remove all bounds from battlefields and expose civilian populations to tremendous danger.
On Thursday 6 and Friday 7 June 2002, the ICRC and the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized a round table on the theme "International Humanitarian Law at the Beginning of the 21st Century: Challenges and Prospects".
Click below to listen to the opinions expressed by some of the participants:
 | | | Video download |
Video stream |
Dr Luigi Condorelli,
Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Geneva
In French: | | "Si on laisse les situations se détériorer et qu'on laisse les conflits éclater, après, le droit humanitaire a beaucoup de difficulté à intervenir...." |
5.1MB - 2'53min | |
Ms Louise Doswald-Beck, Secretary-General, International Commission of Jurists, Geneva
| | "The biggest success of the Protocols is the recognition that we cannot intentionally target the civilians" |
4.2MB - 2'24min | |
Dr Yves Sandoz,
Member of the provisional Direction, University Centre for International Humanitarian Law, Geneva
In French: | | "Les principes défendus par les Protocoles doivent être ancrés dans la population pour que les soldats les respectent" |
5.5MB - 3'10min | |
Mr David Rieff,
Freelance journalist, Member of the Crimes of War project
| | "One of the most important impact the Protocols can have is to get a measure of compliance from non-State activists" |
5.6MB - 3'15min | |
