IRRC No. 319
The ICRC Advisory Service on International Humanitarian Law
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Abstract
Becoming party to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, their Additional Protocols of 1977 and other treaties of international humanitarian law is but a State's first step in complying with that law. It must be followed by action at the national level to ensure implementation of the different provisions. That action can take various forms ranging from the adoption of national laws and regulations to the location and appropriate marking of buildings and other objects protected by the humanitarian law.