APPLICATION AND APPLICABILITY OF THE LAW OF ARMED CONFLICT TO ARMED CONFLICTS WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

The coronavirus pandemic otherwise known as COVID-19 pandemic is one recent incident shaking the entire world given its rapid spread and the level of death recorded so far. Following the pandemic, activities have been slowed down across the world in order to arrest further threat of infection. This slowdown of activities did not however affect the temerity with which armed conflicts rake havoc across some parts of the world, despite the pandemic. It therefore becomes imperative to consider the place of the Law of Armed Conflict in this context. The Article interrogates, by means of legal and case law analysis, the application and applicability of the Law of Armed Conflict to the armed conflicts taking place in some part of the world amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The Article argued that the Law of Armed Conflict crystallizes in situations of armed conflict to protect potential victims and that being the case; the COVID-19 pandemic does not suspend the application of the Law of Armed Conflict once the situation of armed conflict exists. The Article however found that the COVID-19 pandemic makes the application of the Law of Armed Conflict difficult given the fact that it complicates issues. To address this difficulty, the Article recommends among other things constant dissemination of the basic principles of the Law of Armed Conflict amongst both armed forces and civilians so as to facilitate respect for the Law of Armed Conflict; the enactment of domestic laws criminalizing the violation of the Law of Armed Conflict; and the provision of effective sanctions punishing such violations.