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LAW education

International standards for war

BILLY I AHMED
ATTEMPTS to put limits on wartime behaviour have been around since the beginning of history and there have been numerous attempts to codify the rules of appropriate military conduct. In the sixth century BCE, Chinese warrior Sun Tzu suggested putting limits on the way that war was conducted. Around 200 BCE, the notion of war crimes as such appeared in the Hindu code of Manu. In 1305, the Scottish national hero Sir William Wallace was tried for the wartime murder of civilians. Hugo Grotius wrote "On the Law of War and Peace" in 1625, focusing on the humanitarian treatment of civilians. In 1865, Confederate officer Henry Wirz was executed for murdering Federal prisoners of war at the Andersonville prisoner of war camp. He was only one of several people who were tried for similar offences. In fact, it's been the past century and a half that has really seen a qualitative jump in the degree to which constraints have been placed on warring parties, and only this century that an international body has been formed to police the nations of the world.
The first Geneva Convention was signed in 1864 to protect the sick and wounded in wartime. This first Geneva Convention was inspired by Henri Dunant, founder of the Red Cross. Ever since then, the Red Cross has played an integral part in the drafting and enforcement of the Geneva Conventions. These included the 1899 treaties, concerning asphyxiating gases and expanding bullets. In 1907, 13 separate treaties were signed, followed in 1925 by the Geneva Gas Protocol, which prohibited the use of poison gas and the practice of bacteriological warfare. In 1929, two more Geneva Conventions dealt with the treatment of the wounded and prisoners of war. In 1949, four Geneva Conventions extended protections to those shipwrecked at sea and to civilians. The Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property was signed in 1954, the United Nations Convention on Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Techniques followed in 1977, together with two Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, extending their protections to civil wars.
International rules about soldiers
The Geneva Conventions and supplementary protocols make a distinction between combatants and civilians. The two groups must be treated differently by the warring sides and, therefore, combatants must be clearly distinguishable from civilians. Although this obligation benefits civilians by making it easier for the warring sides to avoid targeting non-combatants, soldiers also benefited because they become immune from prosecution for acts of war. In order for the distinction between combatants and civilians to be clear, combatants must wear uniforms and carry their weapons openly during military operations and during preparation for them. The exceptions are medical and religious personnel, who are considered noncombatants even though they may wear uniforms. Medical personnel may also carry small arms to use in self-defence if illegally attacked. The other exceptions are mercenaries, who are specifically excluded from protections. Mercenaries are defined as soldiers who are not nationals of any of the parties to the conflict and are paid more than the local soldiers are. Combatants who do fall within the guidelines of the Geneva Conventions enjoy the following protections:
Prisoners of war must be treated humanely. Specifically, prisoners must not be subject to torture or to medical or scientific experiments of any kind. They must also be protected against violence, intimidation, insults and public curiosity. The public display of POWs is also prohibited.
When questioned in the prisoner's native language. Prisoners of war must only give their names, ranks, birth dates and serial numbers. Prisoners who refuse to answer may not be threatened or mistreated.
Prisoners of war must be immediately evacuated away from a combat zone and must not be unnecessarily exposed to danger. They may not be used as human shields.
Finally and most importantly, prisoners of war may not be punished for the acts they committed during the fighting unless the opposing side would have punished its own soldiers for those acts as well.
International rules about civilians
Both the fourth Geneva Convention and the two Additional Protocols extend protections to civilians during wartime:
Civilians are not to be subject to attack. This includes direct attacks on civilians and indiscriminate attacks against areas in which civilians are present.
There is to be no destruction of property unless justified by military necessity.
Individuals or groups must not be deported, regardless of motive.
Civilians must not be used as hostages.
Civilians must not be subject to outrages upon personal dignity.
Civilians must not be tortured, raped or enslaved.
Civilians must not be subject to collective punishment and reprisals.
Civilians must not receive differential treatment based on race, religion, nationality, or political allegiance.
Warring parties must not use or develop biological or chemical weapons and must not allow children under 15 to participate in hostilities or to be recruited into the armed forces.
International rules about journalists
Customs have changed since the 1949 conventions were signed. In the first half of this century, journalists were considered civilian members of military, often wore uniforms, and became prisoners of war when captured. The first, second and third Geneva Conventions extend to war correspondents all the protections due to combatants. They were not to be treated as spies and, even though their notebooks and film could be confiscated, they did not have to respond to interrogation. If they were sick or wounded, they must receive medical treatment and, if they were captured, they must be treated humanely. This changed with the adoption of the 1977 Protocols, which explicitly recognised journalists as civilians and due to all the civilian protections. Now, journalists must not be deliberately targeted, detained, or otherwise mistreated any more.
Grievance procedure
If a person or a group of people feels that their rights have been violated, there are a number of agencies and organisations to which they may turn for help. Many of these agencies and organisations collect case histories and other documentation of war crimes and human rights abuses for the purposes of distributing them to the media. A few organisations will even help journalists find sources and transportation. Some representatives of these organisations speak on the record, others only for background information.
When dealing with such an organisation, the journalist should respect the organisation's official policies when it comes to press contacts.