Pour I'auteur, le principe de l'humanité inclut la possibilité et la volonté de réduire la capacité de se livrer à la violence armée et d'en limiter les effets sur la sécurité et la santé. L'humanité ainsi interprétée englobe l'humanitarisme, la moralité, le développement, les droits de l'homme et la sécurité humaine. À ce titre, elle est une des principales sources du droit international en général et du droit international humanitaire en particulier. Dans cet article, l'auteur décrit les conséquences du lien étroit qui existe entre humanité et droit international.

East Timor has been on the international community's agenda since 1975, and the events of 1999 have attracted worldwide attention to the island's fate. This article examines some of the legal issues which are relevant for the application of international humanitarian law to the conflict over East Timor. In particular, the author examines the international status of East Timor during the Indonesian occupation and after, with the arrival of the multinational military force and the administration set up by the United Nations. The status of those civilians who took refuge in West Timor from the explosion of violence, as well as the rights of Timorese detained by the provisional administration, are also extensively discussed. The author regrets that many legal issues have not been settled in a satisfactory manner by the various players involved in the international response to the drama, although clear answers may be found in international humanitarian law applicable to the situation prevailing in East Timor.

La Convention sur l'interdiction ou la limitation de l'emploi de certaines armes classiques qui peuvent être considérées comme produisant des effets traumatiques excessifs ou comme frappant sans discrimination (du 10 octobre 1980) a établi le cadre juridique pour non seulement interdire certaines armes particulièrement cruelles mais encore, et surtout, en limiter l'emploi. l'article retrace l'histoire de ce traité et rappelle l'évolution qu'il a connue depuis 1980 à travers, notamment, l'adoption d'un nouveau protocole sur les armes à laser aveuglantes et le renforcement du Protocole II (relatif aux mines terrestres). Toutefois, après l'interdiction complète des mines antipersonnel par le traité d'Ottawa en 1997, peut-on encore justifier l'approche choisie par la Convention de 1980, à savoir la limitation dans l'emploi ? L'auteur répond par l'affirmative.

With the concept of humanitarian action becoming disproportionately vast and politicized, scaled down or diluted, the question is to what extent it can, without seeing its own legitimacy seriously challenged, fill the vacuum created by the lack of a consistent and predictable worldwide political system. Between war and peace, this question casts its shadow on the broader horizon of a world in search of a new political order, one that would be better able to reconcile humanitarian requirements and political interests, State sovereignty and respect for the fundamental rights of the individual. The author looks for answers in the vast experience accumulated over the years by the ICRC whose legitimacy in providing humanitarian assistance and protection to war victims has traditionally been upheld by three elements. The first of these is a set of principles whose raison d'être is to mark out and define the humanitarian space within which it operates; the second is a legal framework, made up today of the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols of 1911, which enjoy universal acceptance; and the third is the product of time, the legitimacy acquired through activities conducted in the long term and through constant practice.

Grey zones, lasting crises and forgotten conflicts are typical of our times. Even though certain conflicts come to an end, many do not because no solution is found for the underlying causes. The great majority of these conflicts are internal and involve non-State entities; they are civil wars. Such complex and interminable crises are a challenge not only for statesmen and diplomats but also for “humanitarians”, in particular the international organizations in charge of humanitarian action. The authors examine the causes and characteristics of such conflicts. They particularly highlight the fact that unending wars not only create short-term humanitarian problems but in the long run destroy civil society. What are the solutions to such conflicts? The authors call for a change of attitudes and a new approach to lasting crises and suggest various forms of action to be taken by the international community. While adequate measures for dealing with humanitarian issues have been found for traditional wars, lasting crises and forgotten conflicts are still awaiting a response by the humanitarian community.

La création de zones protégées est un moyen de mettre la population civile à l'abri des hostilités. Cet article examine le régime juridique de la création et du contrôle de zones protégées lors des opérations de paix des Nations Unies. L'auteur se penche sur le droit international et la pratique des États dans les cas où les forces des Nations Unies ont, en application du Chapitre VII de la Charte, établi et contrôlé des zones protégées, sans le consentement de certaines ou de l'ensemble des parties au conflit. Il étudie en outre les éléments juridiques, sur lesquels se fondent les forces des Nations Unies pour créer et contrôler des zones protégées, alors qu'aucun mandat ne leur a été explicitement donné. L'auteur conclut que les casques bleus peuvent, dans certaines circonstances, être juridiquement fondés à agir de la sorte même s'ils n'ont pas un mandat explicite du Conseil de sécurité.

Does the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has the authority to apply international humanitarian law in a case before it? The author examines a recent decision where the Court concludes that it has no power to apply rules other than the American Convention on Human Rights and general international law (Las Palmeras case). This decision overturns the position taken by the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights which concluded that international humanitarian law must be refered to insofar as human rights law does not satisfactorily answer the problem. The article examines the pros and cons of the question, with ample reference to the practice of the European Court of Human Rights.

Since the end of the Cold War, the prevention of forced displacement has become a key topic of humanitarian agencies and international political bodies. Though alluring as a human and political solution, it still lacks adequate theoretical analysis. The article examines the challenges and hazards entailed by the emergence of this new concept, which appears to be both multidimensional in its objective and application and controversial in terms of its potential impact on certain norms and principles of international law. For all its many possibilities, the prevention of forced displacement is also a risky concept whose limitations should induce humanitarian operators to handle it with great care and restraint.