Syria must be held to the law of war

(CNN) — The U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Syria recently determined that the fighting in Syria is not an “armed conflict” (PDF) — the legal term for war — under international law because the opposition forces are not sufficiently organized. Yet surely the protesters, dissident fighters and terrified citizens caught up in the violence in Syria believe they are at war.

States and other international legal experts are following the same overly technical approach and, as a result, not applying the law designed for just this situation: the law of war. The international community is left unable to use every available tool in its efforts to halt the violence and protect civilians from extraordinary suffering.

Failing to call Syria’s upheaval an armed conflict — the legal term for war — has real and immediate consequences. Contrary to what events in Syria suggest, war is not waged in a legal vacuum. International law regulates permissible conduct during war, even civil war.

The law of war exists specifically to restrain brutality in war, protect innocent civilians from direct attack and minimize suffering. It prohibits deliberate attacks on civilians and using them as human shields, requires humane treatment of the wounded or detained personnel, obligates parties to respect and protect medical aid providers, mandates efforts to facilitate delivery of humanitarian relief, and imposes criminal responsibility on those who disregard these obligations. These basic and essential protections apply during any armed conflict.