Protocol of 1977

international law

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July 1, 2026

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The Protocol of 1977 refers to two additional agreements made to the Geneva Conventions of 1949. The Geneva Conventions are a set of international treaties aimed at reducing the suffering caused by war for both soldiers and civilians.12

The first protocol, approved in 1977, extended protections to individuals involved in wars of self-determination, defining these as international conflicts. It also allowed for the creation of commissions to investigate alleged breaches of the conventions.1

The second protocol, also from 1977, provided enhanced human rights protections for those involved in severe civil conflicts, which were not covered by the 1949 accords. This protocol specifically prohibited acts such as collective punishment, torture, and slavery.1

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law of war
Civil war
…the conflict) by the second Protocol of 1977, which applies to civil wars in which dissident armed forces, under responsible command, exercise such control over a part of the territory of a contracting state as to enable them to carry out sustained and concerted military operations and to implement the…
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…the conflict) by the second Protocol of 1977, which applies to civil wars in which dissident armed forces, under responsible command, exercise such control over a part of the territory of a contracting state as to enable them to carry out sustained and concerted military operations and to implement the…
Read More

law of war
War crimes
The first Protocol of 1977 adds to the list of grave breaches, such as making the civilian population or individual civilians the object of attack, launching an indiscriminate attack affecting the civilian population, the perfidious use of the distinctive emblem of the Red Cross, and the transfer…
Read More
The first Protocol of 1977 adds to the list of grave breaches, such as making the civilian population or individual civilians the object of attack, launching an indiscriminate attack affecting the civilian population, the perfidious use of the distinctive emblem of the Red Cross, and the transfer…
Read More