ABSTRACT

When Francoise Krill wrote her seminal piece on the protection of women under international humanitarian law (IHL) in 1985,1 it was clear that the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 were the main sources of the international legal framework aimed at reducing the suffering of women during times of armed conflict. During the 1970s and 1980s, the operational work of the ICRC, and a few other developing norms also assisted in this task,2 however there was not the depth or breadth of focus upon this issue relative to contemporary reality. Nearing 30 years after Krill’s piece, whilst the Geneva Conventions and their Protocols continue to provide the core protections, many other sources of law, albeit some of it soft law, must now supplement a chapter on the protection of women in times of armed conflict.