IHL Treaties - Additional Protocol (I) to the Geneva Conventions, 1977 - Commentary of 1987 Article | Article 51 - Protection of the civilian population | Article 51
1923 Article 51 is one of the most important articles in the Protocol. It explicitly confirms the customary rule that innocent civilians must be kept outside hostilities as far as possible and enjoy general protection against danger arising from hostilities. This general rule is accompanied by rules of application. 1924 Committee III of the Diplomatic Conference began examining this article in 1974 and referred it, with the ten amendments which had been submitted, to a Working Group. Committee III adopted the text of this article by consensus. Voting took place in a plenary meeting in 1977 and the article was adopted with 77 votes in favour, 1 against and 16 abstentions. (1) 1925 The delegation which voted against justified its vote by arguing that the article could seriously hinder the conduct of military operations against an invader and compromise the exercise of the right to self-defence recognized in Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations. According to this delegation, th