International Standardization of Combatant Protection

This chapter examines the process of establishing international norms for the protection of war casualties. From the 19th to the early 20th century, the protection of war casualties became an international norm in Europe. This was driven by the problem of a large number of missing persons caused by various wars, including the Austro-Prussian War. International conferences were convened on numerous occasions with the objective of enhancing the conduct of warfare in a more humane manner. This resulted in the establishment of regulations pertaining to the protection of bodies and the collection of data on casualties. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) played a pivotal role in supporting this process of international standardization. During the First World War, practices based on these norms were attempted, yet they did not always yield the desired outcomes. At the outset of the war, states were confronted with the challenge of processing a vast amount of information about missing persons and war casualties. However, their initial processing capacity proved inadequate to the task. Over time, however, their processing capacity improved, and a system was established for states to manage the deaths of their citizens as soldiers.