A Personal Reckoning With International Law
For more than two decades as an academic staff member at Mekelle University, an author wrote about standing before lecture halls filled with young students while teaching political science. In those classrooms, the educator taught concepts regarding the post-Cold War new world order, the duty of international law, and the role of international organizations in preserving human dignity.
Beyond academia, the author served as the former board chair and member of the Ethiopian Red Cross Society Tigray Region branch. In an opinion piece published Nov. 10 by Addis Standard, the author described humanitarian principles not merely as textbook concepts but as a "lived, solemn vow." The article reflects on the war in Tigray and the broader decline of global legal norms.
Origins of Humanitarian Frameworks
The piece outlines the historical origins of International Humanitarian Law (IHL), describing it as a framework born from "raw, unvarnished horror" rather than abstract philosophy. According to the text, Swiss businessman Henry Dunant witnessed the aftermath of the Battle of Solferino in 1859, where over 40,000 dead and wounded soldiers lay abandoned without basic medical care.
Dunant organized local villagers under the banner "Tutti fratelli" ("All are brothers") to treat the suffering regardless of uniform. His memoir, "A Memory of Solferino," catalyzed two historic milestones: the founding of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in 1863 and the adoption of the First Geneva Convention in 1864.
Subsequent legal developments further expanded these protections. The Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 prohibited chemical agents and weapons designed to cause unnecessary suffering. Following World War II, the Four Geneva Conventions of 1949 extended protections to naval combatants, prisoners of war, and civilians.
Modern Legal Structures and Current Displacement
The article notes that the UN Charter in 1945 and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 established the prohibition of aggressive war and affirmed human dignity. Later, the Rome Statute in 1998 established the International Criminal Court (ICC), codifying war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide to reinforce individual accountability.
The author contrasts these historical legal oaths with recent conflicts in Palestine, Tigray, Sudan, Rwanda, Iraq, Yemen, and Ukraine. The text states that these ongoing situations reveal a discrepancy between international law principles and the plight of unarmed civilians.
According to official UNHCR global figures cited in the article, over 117.8 million people remain forcibly displaced worldwide. This total includes 68.7 million internally displaced persons and 35.5 million refugees.