The Basics
For at least a decade, States, humanitarian bodies, and civil-society actors have raised concerns about how certain counterterrorism measures can prevent or impede humanitarian and medical activities in armed conflicts. In 2019, the issue drew the attention of the United Nations Security Council.
States have developed international humanitarian law (IHL) in part to safeguard humanitarian and medical activities in armed conflicts. Humanitarian activities are undertaken to relieve and protect people not, or no longer, actively participating in hostilities whose needs are unmet. For their part, extensive protections for impartial medical care for all wounded and sick, including the enemy, are at the foundation of the legal regime. Yet a growing body of qualitative and quantitative evidence documents how certain measures designed and applied to counter terrorism are capable of impeding or preventing humanitarian and medical activities in armed conflicts. In 2019, the Security Council urged States to take into account the potential effects of certain counterterrorism measures on exclusively humanitarian activities, including medical activities, that are carried out by impartial humanitarian actors in a manner consistent with IHL. The Council also demanded that States comply with IHL while countering terrorism.
