20 Technology, Humanitarian Concern, and the Future

Subject(s):

Armed conflict, international — Armed conflict, non-international — International criminal law, victims — Weapons control — Weapons, conventional

This concluding chapter considers two additional dimensions to weapons law, namely, technology and humanitarian concern. It also addresses the prospects for future progress in this field of law. The chapter explains how humanitarian concern inspired past developments in weapons law and will likely have a similar effect in the future. It is noted that humanitarian concern alone is no guarantee that a new treaty will emerge, and the critical factors that determine success or failure in such initiatives are outlined. The growing importance of NGOs and other groups in the inspiration of new weapons law developments is noted, but the chapter concludes that States are and will likely remain at the core of the law of armed conflict and of its development. The chapter ends by seeking to draw some general conclusions from the analysis in the preceding chapters of the book.