In some circumstances a humanitarian law norm may trump a human rights norm, as the lex specialis, or the more specific norm for the particular circumstance. International human rights law remains in effect and continues to apply at all times, including during armed conflict and occupation, to which the laws of war also apply. As discussed below, parties to the conflict are required to take all feasible precautions to minimize harm to civilians and civilian objects and not to conduct attacks that fail to discriminate between combatants and civilians, or would cause disproportionate harm to the civilian population.ĭoes international human rights law still apply in Ukraine? Civilians may never be the deliberate target of attacks. Foremost is the rule that parties to a conflict must distinguish at all times between combatants and civilians. It addresses the conduct of hostilities-the means and methods of warfare-by all parties to a conflict. International humanitarian law, or the laws of war, provides protections to civilians and other noncombatants from the hazards of armed conflict. What are the basic principles of the laws of war? Hostilities between Russian armed forces and Ukrainian armed forces constitute an international armed conflict governed by international humanitarian treaty law (primarily the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and its first additional protocol of 1977 (Protocol I), and the Hague Conventions of 1907 regulating the means and methods of warfare), as well as the rules of customary international humanitarian law.īoth Ukraine and Russia are parties to the 1949 Geneva Conventions and Protocol I. What international law governs an armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine? The fighting has also led to widespread damage and destruction of civilian infrastructure, including homes, hospitals, and schools on both sides of the 427-kilometer line of contact, which separates areas held by Ukrainian government forces from those under the control of the armed groups from “DNR” and “LNR”.Ī Ukrainian serviceman walks by a building hit by shelling in Krymske, Luhansk region, in eastern Ukraine, February 19, 2022. The conflict, ongoing for almost eight years, has killed over 16,000 people, including both combatants and civilians, and has displaced close to 1.5 million. The armed conflict between government forces and Russia-backed armed groups has taken a heavy toll on civilians in eastern Ukraine. Neither sovereignty claims by local “authorities” in the self-proclaimed “LNR” or “DNR”, nor their recognition as independent by the Russian government, affects the applicability of the international law of occupation. The situation in eastern Ukraine, if Russian troops formally enter the territory, would fall within the meaning of occupation in the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, as discussed below. Irrespective of any self-proclaimed label, under international law, including the Geneva Conventions, Russian troops in Ukraine are an occupying force. Since mid-February, the Special Monitoring Mission of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has been reporting significant daily increases in violations of a 2014 ceasefire agreement in conflict-affected areas along the line of contact. In public comments on February 22, Putin stated that the boundaries of the territories whose independence Russia has recognized extend to substantial areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions that are under Ukrainian government control.įighting has escalated in Ukraine’s eastern region of Donbas amid Russia’s unprecedented military build-up along its border with Ukraine.

On February 22, the Federation Council, the upper chamber of Russia’s parliament, approved Putin’s request to deploy the armed forces. Following that, he issued orders to Russia’s armed forces, which have been amassing at the border with Ukraine for months, to carry out “peacekeeping” in the self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic”(“DNR”) and “Luhansk People’s Republics” (“LNR”). On February 21, President Putin signed two decrees recognizing the two areas’ independence and submitted them to parliament for ratification. (Kyiv) – Russia’s parliament adopted a resolution on Februrequesting President Vladimir Putin to recognize as independent states two areas in eastern Ukraine held by Russia-backed armed groups. On February 24, President Putin declared war against Ukraine, and missile and shelling attacks began against multiple Ukrainian cities.

Tetyana Tomenko in front of her house, which was damaged during shelling in Novognativka, eastern Ukraine, February 20, 2022.

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