unnecessary civilian casualties. 76 This was entrenched in international law in an addition to the Geneva Convention in 1977 which states: The civilian population as such, as well as individual civilians, shall not be the object of attack…Civilians shall enjoy the protection afforded by this Part, unless and for such time they take a direct part in hostilities. 77 Examples of the principle of distinction can also be found in a number of other documents, such as in the United Kingdom’s Joint Service Manual of the Law of Armed Conflict which states: Since military operations are to be conducted only against the enemy’s armed forces and military objectives, there must be a clear distinction between the armed forces and civilians, or between combatants and non-combatants, and between objects that might legitimately be attacked and those that are protected from attack. 78 The existence of the principle of distinction in certain countries and international law proves that the intentional harm of civilians in war should not be permissible as these countries and international 76 May, Larry, War Crimes and Just War , (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007). 77 International Committee of the Red Cross, Protocols Additional to the Geneva Conventions of August 1949 (2010), <https://www.icrc.org/eng/assets/files/other/icrc_002_0321.pdf> [Accessed 14 February 2019]. 78 International Committee of the Red Cross, Practice Relating to Rule 1. The Principle of Distinction Between Civilians and Combatants (2010), <https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/customary- ihl/eng/docs/v2_cha_chapter1_rule1> [Accessed 14 February 2019].
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