GENEVA (AP) — On its 75th anniversary, the world’s most famous set of rules for protecting civilians, prisoners and wounded soldiers in war has been largely ignored – by Gaza to Syria to Ukraine To Myanmar and beyond – and their defenders are calling for a new commitment to international humanitarian law.

The Geneva Conventions, which have been accepted by almost every country in the world since their adoption on August 12, 1949, are under threat as armed militias and national armed forces regularly violate the rules of war.

“International humanitarian law is being strained, disregarded and undermined to justify violence,” said Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, which monitors the conventions, on Monday.

“The world must recommit to this robust framework for protecting armed conflict, based on the premise of protecting life rather than justifying death,” she said.

The conventions, whose roots go back to the 19th century, aim to establish rules for warfare: they prohibit torture and sexual violence, require humane treatment of prisoners and prescribe the search for missing persons.

The conventions “reflect a global consensus that all wars have limits,” Spoljaric told reporters at ICRC headquarters in Geneva. “The dehumanization of both enemy combatants and civilians is a path to ruin and catastrophe.”

The Red Cross believes that the conventions are more necessary today than ever. It has counted more than 120 active conflicts worldwide, a six-fold increase since the 50th anniversary of its founding in 1999.

Today, many countries and combatants exploit loopholes in international humanitarian law or interpret it as they see fit. Hospitals, schools and ambulances come under fire, aid workers and civilians are killed, and countries deny access to prisoners.