Armed conflicts

Numerous armed conflicts are currently taking place around the globe, cost of which goes beyond the numbers deaths but it also includes the victims of the consequences of war.The number of indirect victims of armed conflicts is much higher than that of direct deaths.  Indirect death is mainly caused by some preventable infectious diseases, undernourishment , and pregnancy-related conditions. In addition to deaths, armed conflicts also lead to undernourishment, increased infant mortality rates, forced migration, refugees, destruction of infrastructure.

International armed conflict, internationalized armed conflict, and non-international armed conflict are the three types of conflicts recognized by International humanitarian law.

Human rights

“Human rights” can be defined as rights of all human beings, regardless of nationality, residence, gender, ethnic origin, race, religion, language or any other status. Everyone is equally entitled to their human rights without any discrimination. This belief is fairly new and it stems from an evolution of the reflection of human dignity over the past centuries.

After World War II, stronger ideas of human rights emerged . People wanted to make sure that they never again be unjustly denied freedom, food, and shelter. The calls for human rights standards to protect citizens from abuses by their governments, came from different parts of the world. These voices played an important role in the San Francisco meeting that drafted the United Nations Charter in 1945. United Nations was then established with the primary goal of maintaining international peace and preventing conflict.

International humanitarian law

Human rights during armed conflicts are infringed upon the most. Therefore, over the years, there has been much focus on the formulation of mechanism aimed at alleviating human suffering armed conflicts. International law of armed conflicts, of which humanitarian law is a part, tries to provide protection to victims of war and crimes.