Enforcement Challenges Faced by International Humanitarian Law

International humanitarian law (IHL) is a set of rules which seek for humanitarian reasons, to limit the effects of armed conflict. International humanitarian law is part of International law, which is the body of rules governing relations between States. The sources of IHL is found in the four Geneva Conventions of 1949. International Humanitarian Law applies to armed conflicts but it does not regulate whether a State may actually use force; this is governed by an important, but distinct, part of International law set out in the UN charter. International Humanitarian law covers two areas: First, the protection of those who are not, or no longer, taking part in fighting and the second in placing restrictions on the means of warfare-in weapons and the methods of warfare. This paper proposes to deal with what is Protection and what restrictions are there on weapons and tactics and whether States are abiding by the International Humanitarian Laws and if not, what should be done to implement the law. In this era, we are watching the Russia and Ukraine war and war between Israel and Hamas or Palestine and we witness large scale violations impacting civilians. Increasingly the victims of the war are civilians far more than the combatants and IHL has made significant contribution in protecting the civilians, prisoners, the sick and the wounded. Yet, enforcement of IHL is such a huge roadblock as States speak about sovereignty and interference in their affairs. Violations of Geneva Conventions should be viewed more seriously and Tribunals must be created to punish the acts committed during armed conflicts. At the end of the day, steps must be taken to comply with International Humanitarian Law to make the Universe more suitable place for living.