Editing Combatant (section)

==Distinction between combatants and protected civilians==
In an interstate conflict, the requirement of [[Distinction (law)|distinction]] between combatants and [[Protected persons|protected]] [[civilian]]s lies at the root of the ''[[jus in bello]]''. It is reflected in Article 48 of Additional [[Protocol I]] of 1977 to the 1949 [[Geneva Conventions]] for the Protection of War Victims, entitled "Basic rule": "the Parties to the conflict shall at all times distinguish between the civilian population and combatants and between civilian objects and military objectives and accordingly direct their operations only against military objectives."<ref>[https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/api-1977/article-48 Article 48 - Basic rule] IHL Databases</ref>

In a non-interstate conflict, no requirement of distinction exists under Additional [[Protocol II]] to the 1949 Geneva Conventions. However, it did state under Article 13 of the protocol that civilians "shall enjoy general protection against the dangers arising from military operations" until "they take a direct part in hostilities."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/apii-1977/article-13/commentary/1987?activeTab=undefined|title=Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts (Protocol II), 8 June 1977.: Commentary of 1987: Article 13 - Protection of the civilian population|publisher=International Humanitarian Law Datebases}}</ref>