International humanitarian law (IHL), also referred to as the law of armed conflict (LOAC) or jus in bello is the set of rules that applies in time of any armed conflict that seeks to reduce the devastating impact of war and armed conflict by protecting civilians of victims of conflict (including non-combatants and the wounded who are not participating in the hostilities. The violations of IHL and human rights in the ongoing armed conflict are extreme.

Within this challenging environment, awareness of and ability to apply International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and humanitarian principles are increasingly important. Therefore, this course is designed to explore the basic concepts of international humanitarian law, the most important documents governing armed conflict and the protection of war victims from a human rights law perspective.

This programme also aims to provide a general introduction to IHL across key topics so that the participants will have a better grasp of the three key principles in IHL that regulate the conduct of hostilities – Distinction, Proportionality and Precautions – and will be able to illustrate how they limit the effects of armed conflict on the civilians and persons hors de combat on victims (both non-combatants and wounded).