The broad purpose of the Commission is to protect the victims of armed conflict by obtaining the observation of the principles and rules of international law applicable in armed conflict.
In particular the Commission is competent to:
The Commission has that competence if the States parties to the proceeding have deposited the appropriate declarations accepting its competence. In such a case no further manifestation of consent is needed for the Commission's competence to be established.
As well, the Commission may institute an enquiry in other situations at the request of a party to the conflict, but only if the other party or parties concerned consent. In that context the Commission has stated its willingness to enquire into alleged violations of humanitarian law, including those arising in non-international armed conflicts, so long as all parties to the conflict agree.
It has in addition expressed its conviction of the need to take all appropriate initiatives, as necessary in cooperation with other international bodies, in particular the United Nations, with the purpose of carrying out its functions in the interest of the victims of armed conflict. That conviction is based in part on Articles 89 and 1(1) of the first additional Protocol and Article 1 common to the Geneva Conventions. Given the special characteristics of international humanitarian law, the parties might properly be strongly urged to give their consents, for instance by the Secretary-General, the Security Council or the General Assembly of the United Nations, and the Council might go further and require that an enquiry be undertaken, in terms of Chapter VII and Article 103 of the Charter of the United Nations.
