Even in situations such as Lebanon today, where most of the 1949 Conventions are technically inapplicable because Hizbullah is not a state, the Geneva language is seen as a guide to the spirit of customary humanitarian law.The trouble is that measuring civilian woes against military gain is a tall order, especially in a densely populated place like Lebanon.
I didn't ask if the humanitarian movement had trouble prioritising.
Even United Nations humanitarian staff have trouble accessing the six villages that are enclosed in the Barta'a enclave.
He also said that the European Union, the African Union and other groups of countries should help with humanitarian aid and peacekeeping in troubled nations.
"The event was one of the most dramatic and tragic events of our lifetime, but the lack of empathy and assertive action for the other acts of terrorism and humanitarian disasters around the world troubles me," he says of the work.
Also, we cannot forget those disabled before the disaster who, because of their handicap, are having trouble getting access to humanitarian aid".
Facebook pulled a similar trick in early May: having run into trouble with its pseudo-humanitarian effort to provide free internet access via a project called internet.org, it, too, promised to turn it into a platform.
The UN is struggling to establish a working protocol for monitoring matters there, even as the US and other powers consider how best to secure humanitarian relief missions into the deeply troubled country.
In a better world the global community would have sizable stand-by forces, ready to stop humanitarian crises at the first sign of trouble.
The nominee is Nur Hassan Hussein, a career law enforcement official, and Somali politicians said they hoped he could bring an end to the insurgency and humanitarian crisis that have plagued the already troubled country for the past year.
