26 | HUMANITY AMIDST CONFLICTS Basic Obligation of Compliance with IHL As a rule, only combatants may bethetargets of by each Party to the Conflict attack. No one who is notor is no longer Each party to the conflict must respect and ensure participating in armed conflict because of respect for IHL byits armed forces and other persons wounding,illness, shipwreck or prisoner of war or groups acting onits instructions, or underits status is a legitimate target of attack, and such direction or control. This does not depend on people must be protected. reciprocity,i.e. the other party’s compliance. legitimate targets cause incidental consequences When attacks on for protected persons, these mustbe limited to the Advisory and Instructional Obligations extent possible. If an attack would lead to Each State must make legal advisers available, disproportionate incidental consequences, it may whennecessary, to advise military commanders notbe carried out. When engaging in a legitimate at the appropriatelevel on the application of IHL. attack, parties mustrefrain from using means and States and parties to the conflict must provide methods that would cause unnecessary suffering. instruction on IHL to their armedforces as well as the teaching of IHLto thecivilian population. Courts’ Jurisdiction The Courts’ jurisdiction over violators of Basic Obligations of Enforcement international crimes exercise jurisdiction or the of IHL by States power to prosecute and punish alleged Further, States may not encourage violations of perpetratorsof international crimes on the basis IHLbyparties to a conflict. On the contrary, they of three principles: territoriality, passive mustexert their influence, to the degree possible nationality or active nationality. to stop violations of IHL. Recently, the universality principle has emerged Also, a State is responsible for violations of IHL empowering any State in cases of international or those attributable to it, including violations crimes, subject in somecases to the presence of committed bythe following: the alleged offender in the territory of the e its organs, including its armedforces; prosecuting State. e personsorentities it empoweredto exercise e elements of governmental authority, and Pursuantto the principle of universaljurisdiction, personsor groupsacting on its instructions covering grave breaches of the 1949 Geneva or underits discretion or control. Conventions, the Philippines is not only granted the powerto prosecute and try the accused, but Insummary,International Humanitarian Law can also obliged to do so, oralternatively, to extradite be reduced to a few basic principles: Only the defendant to a State concerned. This is true combatants, especially members of the armed in casesof international armedconflict but is now forces, are authorized to undertake belligerent believed to apply equally to core crimes in non- activity. Aslong as they behave accordingto the international armedconflict. rules of international humanitarian law, they cannot be held accountable by the parties for Since the Philippines does not permit arraignment participating in armedconflict. in absentia, the presence of the accused in the