Source: https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v2_rul_rule55_sectionc
Timestamp: 2019-04-21 23:36:43+00:00

Document:
The Parties to the conflict and each High Contracting Party shall allow and facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of all relief consignments, equipment and personnel provided in accordance with this Section, even if such assistance is destined for the civilian population of the adverse Party”.
Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I), Geneva, 8 June 1977, Article 70(2). Article 70 was adopted by consensus. CDDH, Official Records, Vol. VI, CDDH/SR.43, 27 May 1977, p. 245.
The parties to the conflict and any High Contracting Party through whose territory supplies must pass shall grant free passage when relief actions are carried out in accordance with the conditions stated in paragraph 1.
CDDH, Official Records, Vol. I, Part Three, Draft Additional Protocols, June 1973, p. 43.
This proposal was amended and adopted by consensus in Committee II of the CDDH.
CDDH, Official Records, Vol. XIII, CDDH/406/Rev.1, 17 March-10 June 1977, p. 385, § 96.
The Parties to the conflict and each High Contracting Party through whose territory these relief supplies will pass shall facilitate rapid and unimpeded passage of all relief consignments provided in accordance with the conditions stated in paragraph 2.
CDDH, Official Records, Vol. XIII, CDDH/406/Rev.1, 17 March-10 June 1977, p. 424.
Eventually, however, this paragraph was not included in the final draft article that was voted upon in the plenary session.
A neutral State may allow the passage of … relief goods belonging to parties to the conflict (HC [1907 Hague Convention respecting the Rights and Duties of Neutral Powers and Persons in Case of War on Land] Article 14). It should ensure that no battle units or military equipment are included.
Netherlands, Humanitair Oorlogsrecht: Handleiding, Voorschift No. 27-412, Koninklijke Landmacht, Militair Juridische Dienst, 2005, § 0936.
If the whole or part of the population of occupied territory suffers from shortage of supplies, the Occupant must agree to relief schemes being instituted on their behalf and must facilitate such schemes by all the means at his disposal. The schemes in question will consist in particular of the provision of the consignments of foodstuffs, medical supplies and clothing … All parties to [the 1949 Geneva Convention IV] must permit the free passage of such consignments and must guarantee their protection.
Under Ireland’s Geneva Conventions Act (1962), as amended in 1998, any “minor breach” of the 1977 Additional Protocol I, including violations of Article 70(2), is a punishable offence.
Most humanitarian agencies require a permissive security environment before they can operate in Iraq. The Office of the UN Security Co-ordinator (UNSECOORD) provides security advice to the UN humanitarian agencies. Security updates are also being provided through the Humanitarian Operations Centre in Kuwait. NGOs are being issued passes to cross the Kuwait/Iraq border by the Humanitarian Operations Centre in Kuwait. Once the situation allows, NGOs will need to undertake their own security assessments before engaging.
United Kingdom, House of Commons, Written answer by the Secretary of State for International Development, Hansard, 10 April 2003, Vol. 403, Written Answers, col. 389W.
In a resolution adopted in 2000 on protection of civilians in armed conflicts, the UN Security Council called upon “all parties concerned, including neighbouring states, to cooperate fully with the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator and United Nations agencies in providing … access” of humanitarian personnel.
UN Security Council, Res. 1296, 19 April 2000, § 8, voting record: 15-0-0.
UN Security Council, Res. 1772, 20 August 2007, § 20, voting record: 15-0-0.
The Security Council calls on all States to assist the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian and relief agencies operating in the area in meeting the urgent humanitarian needs in Rwanda and its bordering States. The Council calls on States bordering Rwanda … to facilitate transfer of goods and supplies to meet the needs of the displaced persons within Rwanda.
UN Security Council, Statement by the President, UN Doc. S/PRST/1994/21, 30 April 1994, p. 2.
The Council … urges the wider region to help facilitate the cross-border provision of aid to Somalia, across land borders or via air- and sea-ports.
The Security Council emphasizes again the need for strengthened efforts to provide humanitarian relief assistance to Somalia, including assistance to the hundreds of thousands of displaced persons, urges Member States to support generously such operations, and demands that all parties ensure unfettered access for humanitarian assistance.
UN Security Council, Statement by the President, UN Doc. S/PRST/2007/19, 14 June 2007, p. 2.
UN General Assembly, Res. 46/182, 19 December 1991, Annex, § 7, adopted without a vote.
Reaffirms also that States whose populations are in need of humanitarian assistance are called upon to facilitate the work of humanitarian organizations and that States in proximity to humanitarian emergencies are urged to facilitate, to the extent possible, the transit of humanitarian assistance.
UN General Assembly, Res. 59/141, 15 December 2004, preamble, adopted without a vote.
In a decision adopted in 1996 on the humanitarian situation in Iraq, the UN Sub-Commission on Human Rights appealed to the “international community as a whole and to all Governments, including that of Iraq, to facilitate the supply of food and medicine to the civilian population”.
UN Sub-Commission on Human Rights, Decision on the humanitarian situation in Iraq, UN Doc. E/CN.4/Sub.2/DEC/1996/107, 25 November 1996.
In 1999, in a report on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, the UN Secretary-General urged “neighbouring Member States to ensure access for humanitarian assistance”.
UN Secretary-General, Report on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, UN Doc. S/1999/957, 8 September 1999, § 51, Recommendation 19.
States in proximity to emergencies are urged to participate closely with affected countries in international efforts with a view to facilitating, to the extent possible, the transit of humanitarian assistance and humanitarian personnel.
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, United Nations Inter-Agency Consolidated Appeal for Sierra Leone (January–December 1999), December 1998, Annex I, Code of Conduct for Humanitarian Assistance in Sierra Leone, p. 88.
In a declaration on Yugoslavia in 1992, the EC called upon all parties to the conflict and other States “to facilitate the provision of humanitarian assistance … including through the establishment of humanitarian corridors”.
EC, Declaration on Yugoslavia, 20 July 1992, § 4.
In a resolution adopted in 1993 on the situation in Angola, the OAU Assembly of Heads of State and Government called on “the OAU Member States and the international community to provide urgent humanitarian aid in order to mitigate the sufferings of the people in this country”.
At its Budapest Session in 1991, the Council of Delegates adopted a resolution on humanitarian assistance in situations of armed conflict, in which it called upon all parties to armed conflicts and, where applicable, any High Contracting Party “to agree to and cooperate in relief actions which are exclusively humanitarian, impartial and non-discriminatory in character, within the meaning of the Fundamental Principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement”.
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, Council of Delegates, Budapest Session, 28–30 November 1991, Res. 12, § c.
In cases where the territory controlled by one party can be reached only by crossing … the territory of a third State, free passage over such territory should be granted to any relief consignment, at least insofar as is provided for in Article 23 [of the 1949 Geneva Convention IV].
Institute of International Law, Wiesbaden Session, Resolution III, The Principle of Non-Intervention in Civil Wars, 14 August 1975, Article 4(2).

References: § 96
 § 0936
 § 8
 § 20
 § 7
 § 51
 § 4