The Additional Protocols
How the 1977 Protocols expanded IHL to address guerrilla warfare, civilian protection, and internal conflicts.
Additional Protocol I (International Armed Conflicts)
Adopted in 1977, Additional Protocol I (AP I) updated and expanded the rules governing international armed conflicts. Its most important contributions include detailed rules on the conduct of hostilities, the definition of military objectives, and the protection of civilians from the effects of warfare. AP I codified the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution that are now considered the pillars of IHL.
AP I also extended the scope of IHL by classifying wars of national liberation (against colonial domination, alien occupation, or racist regimes) as international armed conflicts. This was deeply controversial: colonial powers saw it as legitimizing insurgency, while newly independent states viewed it as a recognition of their struggles. The United States, Israel, and several other states have not ratified AP I.
