ABSTRACT
In this concluding chapter an examination is undertaken of the various State responses to give effect to the obligation to ensure respect for IHL which have been identified and suggested across the preceeding chapters. The volume concludes that there are three categories of response which have emerged. The first of these categories relates to those individual State actions which set the example and encourage other States to respect IHL. The second relates to States taking responsibility to create a conducive environment within which all States are able to build respect for IHL. These first two categories of activities are not linked to any specific violation, but rather are actions that States engage in at all times – both in times of peace and times of war. The third encompasses direct, coercive action which States can take to enforce respect for IHL in the face of a specific IHL violation. The concept of due diligence provides the lens through which States’ responses within each of these categories must be viewed, so that the different activities that form part of the spectrum of actions that ensure respect can be fully realised.
