The fall of the Berlin Wall has fundamentally changed Europe, and this has come about in a surprisingly peaceful way. However, the events of 1989–1991 have not produced a new and stable order. Conflicts have erupted in many parts of the former Soviet Union, in particular in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Tensions between the former superpowers have been replaced by a large number of local conflicts, i.e. civil wars. After analysing the characteristics of these internal armed conflicts, the author discusses the responses of existing international humanitarian law to the humanitarian issues they raise. The different measures capable of strengthening the respect for the rules are of particular importance. Recent events show, however, that the use of military force may not necessarily be the appropriate reaction to violations of humanitarian law, in particular if the number of casualties and the material damage caused by such intervention are likely to be disproportionately high. A durable international order cannot be built on force, but only on dialogue and mutual respect.

At the outbreak of the Second World War, international humanitarian law was made up of the various Hague Conventions of 1907 and the two 1929 Geneva Conventions, none of which dealt in a satisfactory manner with the risks faced by the civilian population. Experience during the war made a major revision of international humanitarian law a priority after 1945. This articles traces the history of that endeavour up to the adoption by a diplomatic conference, on 12 August 1949, of the four Geneva Conventions for the protection of war victims. Particular emphasis is laid on the link between the ICRC's wartime experience with the inadequate law of the day and the negotiations for new legal provisions. The second part of the article identifies the major advances represented by the 1949 Geneva Conventions, one of the more important being the fact that the law's scope was extended to non-international armed conflicts. Though making no claim to perfection, the new Geneva Conventions nevertheless laid a sound basis on which adequate solutions may be found when military considerations and humanitarian exigencies clash.

In December 1995 the 26th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent endorsed the recommendations drawn up by the Intergovernmental Group of Experts for the Protection for War Victims which had met, at the invitation of the Swiss government, on 23–27 January 1995 in Geneva. Recommendation II of this Group proposed that:

“the ICRC be invited to prepare, with the assistance of experts in IHL [international humanitarian law] representing various geographical regions and different legal systems, and in consultation with experts from governments and international organisations, a report on customary rules of IHL applicable in international and non-international armed conflicts, and to circulate the report to States and competent international bodies.”

As international arms transfers, particularly of small arms, have become easier, the promotion of respect for international humanitarian law has become vastly more difficult. The proliferation of weapons in the hands of new and often undisciplined individuals or groups has outpaced efforts to ensure compliance with basic rules of warfare. The result is appalling levels of wanton violence and a stream of horrific images which threaten to immunize the public and decision-makers to ongoing violations of international humanitarian law. In the absence of vigorous action to restrain the availability of military style arms and ammunition, those responsible for training combatants in the laws of armed conflict have little hope of reaching all those capable of waging war. The price to be paid is high, in terms of human suffering, social and economic disruption and the burdens of intervention when the international community decides to act.

The massive influx of weapons into already unstable regions, where they are sometimes sold for a pittance, justifies grave doubts about respect for humanitarian standards. Such proliferation sets in motion a vicious circle in which people arm themselves out of fear for their safety, thus further destabilizing the situation, which is soon governed by the law of the jungle. At that point, any and all standards are ignored. The result: tension, unrest, violence, even armed conflict, all of which is extremely detrimental to any effort to foster respect for international humanitarian law. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which monitors compliance with that law, cannot stand idly by. Its President therefore voiced the organization's concern to the 26th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, held in 1995, and reminded governments of their responsibilities.

La communauté internationale a célébr– cette année le centenaire de la Conférence internationale de la Paix qui s'était tenue à La Haye en 1899. Deux événements ont eu lieu dans cette ville en mai 1999: une réunion des États et une conférence organisée par des organisations non gouvernementales. Une autre réunion gouvernementale s'est tenue a Saint-Pétersbourg en juin 1999.