ABSTRACT
Emotions are an intrinsic element of warfare: pride and patriotism may motivate soldiers to fight, a victory may lead to joy and relief while the loss of lives definitely causes tremendous suffering among victims. Law, on the other hand, attempts to offer objective rules to regulate human interaction, including warfare. 1 IHL, the body of international law which aims at reducing the suffering of victims of armed conflict, is often used as an illustration of how emotions, in particular compassion for victims of conflict, have triggered the development of new international law treaties. 2 While this is undoubtedly true, this chapter shows that the relationship between emotions and IHL is more complex. From a lawmaking perspective, the humanity-driven willingness of States to codify new rules has decreased in the last decades. IHL itself aims at deactivating negative emotions of the fighting parties in favour of protecting victims of armed conflict. Lastly, while emotional suffering by victims of armed conflict has gradually received more attention in IHL rules, it mostly remains under the IHL radar.
