Basic principles of international humanitarian law concerning treatment of war prisoners: Theoretical and legal analysis

The author determined that the adoption of the norms of international humanitarian law (hereinafter referred to as IHL) served as a new push for the entire civilized world to humanize social legal relations, which in turn related to the rules of keeping soldiers in captivity and treating them. De jure, this model of protection seems to be used during armed conflicts, but de facto there are significant violations, in particular in terms of the declarative nature of international obligations and the leveling of the influence of international organizations on the side of the conflict that has war prisoners, which is due to the obsolescence of IHL norms in terms of the absence effective mechanisms to counteract such a phenomenon as the violation of the rights of war prisoners. In addition, the practice of applying legal norms in the field of treatment of war prisoners was analyzed, where the question of their status became a reality due to the introduction of a state of war on the territory of Ukraine, the growing number of war prisoners on both sides, the lack of real mechanisms to guarantee proper treatment, the weakness of international organizations in this area, the promotion of false information about the conditions of their detention to the general public, globalization and changes in social life in all spheres, which became the prerequisites for the situation that arose with the legislation on ensuring the rights and freedoms of participants in military operations, adopted after the World War II, and, accordingly, which needs to be updated according to modern challenges and existing problems. The main principles of IHL regarding the treatment of war prisoners were studied and the importance of the full implementation of these principles was emphasized for effective compliance by the parties to the conflict with certain norms and standards, since it is seen that as of the beginning of 2024, Ukraine has complied with the provisions of the Third Geneva Convention on the protection of war prisoners and demonstrated its readiness and ability fulfill their obligations. At the same time, the russian federation did not show readiness or initiative to take similar measures, which calls into question its commitment to international standards, which has a negative impact on international security and law and order