Leonard Rubenstein
Almost a decade ago, a book of essays about the development of, and lack of respect for, international humanitarian law (IHL) in the second half of the twentieth century appeared under the title Do the Geneva Conventions Matter?. The question seems even more relevant now, as, in the first quarter of the twenty-first century, war has been characterized by persistent and vicious assaults on humanitarians, health workers, infrastructure and civilians in general.
Some State militaries and non-State armed groups have demonstrated open contempt for the law’s values and specific rules in wars in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gaza, Myanmar, Sudan, Tigray (Ethiopia), Ukraine and
in less-reported conflicts around the globe. The Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition reported more than 2,500 attacks on healthcare in conflicts in 2023, the highest it has ever reported in its decade of reporting. The atrophy of commitment to IHL is evident too among States, most recently Israel, that celebrate their fealty to it but interpret its obligations so narrowly that they drain it of protective value and justify attacks that result in mass killing and wounding of civilians and destruction
of health systems.
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