Beyond the Vanishing Point? What the Destruction of Civilian Infrastructure in Armed Conflicts Reveals about the State and the Role of IHL Today

The UN Secretary-General's annual report on protecting civilians in armed conflict highlights persistent violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) in regions like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Sudan, the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and Ukraine. The report underscores a growing gap between IHL principles and the realities of civilian harm, with patterns of infrastructure destruction and the law's instrumentalization to justify unlawful conduct.