CYIL 2012

HUMAN SECURITY IN TIMES OF WAR OR TOWARDS A FOURTH WAVE OF HUMANIZATION… HUMAN SECURITY IN TIMES OF WAR OR TOWARDS A FOURTH WAVE OF HUMANIZATION OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW?

Veronika Bílková

Abstract: The paper inquires into the relationship between the concept of human security and international humanitarian law. It shows that since its creation in the mid-19th century, IHL has undergone a process of gradual humanization. This process, consisting of three main waves, has rendered IHL more individual-centred. Yet, despite this evolution, IHL is not fully compatible with the concept of human security which has recently emerged at the international scene. The paper argues that while further humanization is still possible in some areas of IHL, the system cannot do away with some of its basic categories that might collide with the concept. Doing so would render IHL either unnecessary or, in a worse and more probable case, utterly unrealistic. Resumé: Příspěvek se zabývá vztahem mezi konceptem lidské bezpečnosti a meziná rodním humanitárním právem. Ukazuje, že MHP prošlo od svého vytvoření v polo vině 19. století procesem postupné humanitace. Tento proces, sestávající ze třech vln, zvýšil důraz, který MHP klade na postavení jednotlivce. Ani takto humanizovaný systém MHP nicméně není plně v souladu s parametry konceptu lidské bezpečnosti, který se na mezinárodní scéně rozvíjí v posledních dvou desetiletích. Příspěvek dospí vá k závěru, že i když určitá další humanizace MHP je ještě možná, MHP se nemůže vzdát některých základních kategorií, jež mohou být s konceptem lidské bezpečnosti v rozporu. Pokud by se tak stalo, ztratilo by MHP svou relevanci a funkčnost. Key words: human security, international humanitarian law, armed conflicts. On the Author: JUDr. PhDr. Veronika Bílková, Ph.D., E.MA, is a research fellow at the Institute of International Relations in Prague and a lecturer in international law at the Law Faculty of Charles University in Prague. She graduated from the Law and Philosophical Faculties of Charles University and additionally earned a European Master’s Degree in Human Rights and Democratisation and then Postgraduate Diploma in International Law at the University of Cambridge. In her research, she focuses on international law (the use of force, international humanitarian law, international criminal law, and human rights) and international relations (security topics and the UN).

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