Гарантії виконання норм міжнародного гуманітарного права та санкції, якими воно забезпечується

The article offers a comprehensive analysis of the guarantees for compliance with the norms of international humanitarian law (IHL) and the mechanisms for their enforcement, particularly in the context of modern armed conflicts. Special attention is given to the observance of IHL provisions in the framework of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. The authors systematize the key guarantees for the implementation of IHL norms, including the system of protecting powers, the activities of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the positive obligations of parties to comply with the Conventions, mechanisms of collective and individual responsibility, as well as international criminal prosecution. The study examines the role of external oversight and the influence of international institutions – such as the ICRC, protecting powers, and specialized humanitarian organizations – as well as the impact of public opinion and the media in ensuring adherence to humanitarian standards. The authors emphasize the limited effectiveness of existing international legal sanction mechanisms due to the absence of effective enforcement tools and the dependence on states’ political will. Special attention is devoted to reprisals as a controversial means of law enforcement, along with the issue of impunity for violations of IHL norms. The necessity of reforming the approaches to ensuring compliance with IHL is substantiated by combining external oversight with internal national mechanisms, strengthening legislative regulation, promoting systematic legal education of military personnel and public officials, and actively involving international judicial institutions. The study also underlines the need to develop a sustainable and effective international practice for responding to serious violations of IHL, which must be grounded in the principles of universality, legal certainty, transparency, and equality before international law. The recommendations proposed in the article have practical relevance for improving national policies in the sphere of human rights protection during armed conflicts and for strengthening Ukraine’s role as an active actor within the international humanitarian legal framework.