75 years of the Geneva Conventions: States’ obligation to reduce suffering, in compliance with international humanitarian law

The Geneva Conventions were adopted on 12 August 1949 and are now universally ratified, representing a universal acknowledgement that war needs rules to limit its devastating impact on humanity. The Geneva Conventions are at the core of international humanitarian law (IHL), which protects people who are not, or are no longer, taking part in the hostilities by regulating the conduct of armed conflict with limitations on the means and methods of warfare to maintain some humanity in armed conflict, save lives and reduce suffering.