Definitions are often the first step toward granting or denying a person's rights. This guide aims to provide meaning and content for terms such as terrorism, refugee, genocide, and intervention. It also explains the terms, concepts, and rules of humanitarian law.

Definitions are often the first step toward granting or denying a person's rights. The Guide's aim is to provide precise meaning and content for terms such as terrorism, refugee, genocide, and intervention, the terms that the media have introduced into everyday conversation, yet whose legal and political meanings are often obscure. "The Practical Guide to Humanitarian Law" explains the terms, concepts, and rules of humanitarian law in accessible and reader-friendly alphabetical entries. Written from the perspective of victims and those who bring them assistance, the Guide outlines the dangers, spells out the law, and points the way toward dealing with violators and violations of the law.