the law of war requires humane treatment for military

Despite the U.S. Supreme Courts rulings in 2006 and 2008, however, strong arguments can and have still been made that the former inter-State, International armed conflict classification was, and is, the correct and rightful classification for these extremist and indiscriminately violent detainees captured during the GWOT. Finally, new rules regarding the treatment of the deceased, cultural artifacts, and dangerous targets (such as dams and nuclear installations) were produced. *For an excellent documentary discussing the CIAs use of enhanced interrogation techniques on captured terrorists detained at Guantanamo prison, and presenting, However, while this is a clear and generally accepted definition of torture, there is still. I approved the use of the interrogation techniques. Family homes in Serbian towns and villages in Kosovo Province were set on fire or destroyed by violent Albanian rioters during the Kosovo Riots of 17-19 March 2004.[3]. 37,770,554 questions answered * weegy Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. [31] [Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, 2006] see S.C. Welsh, Terrorism Detainees: Geneva Convention Common Article 3, Centre for Defense Information Law Project, 2006, p.1, www.cdi.org, (accessed 16 January 2007) and L. Greenhouse, Supreme Court Blocks Guantnamo Tribunals, New York Times, 29 June 2006, https://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/29/washington/29cnd-scotus.html, (accessed 23 April 2019). But the choice between security and values was real. [21] Derbyshire, 149.335 Introduction to LOAC, in Section One: Introduction to LOAC and Historical Development, 149.335 Law of Armed Conflict, ibid., p. 14. In 1929, updates were made to further the civilized treatment of prisoners of war. To better illustrate this point, the following comprises a list of the known various terrorist plots and attacks that were prevented or stopped by the U.S. as a result of the CIAs enhanced interrogation programme during the early 2000s (among many other terrorist plots that remain classified and are therefore unknown to the general public): (1) the 2002 U.S. West Coast Airliner Plot; (6) the 2004 United Kingdom (UK) Urban Targets Plot; Furthermore, according to the U.S. Department of Defense, as a direct result of the enhanced interrogation program the CIA was also able to successfully: (Bush, Decision Points, ibid., p. 171; United States Department of Defense (U.S. DoD), Summary of the High Value Terrorist Detainee Program, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Washington DC 20511, Military Commission Proceedings at Guantanamo Bay, 2008, http://www.defenselink.mil/home/features/Detainee_Affairs/, (accessed 12 September 2008); U.S. DoD, JTF-GTMO Information on Detainees, Military Commission Proceedings at Guantanamo Bay, 4 March 2005, http://www.defenselink.mil/home/features/Detainee_Affairs/, (accessed 12 September 2008)). General (GEN) Tommy Franks, the U.S. Army former Commander of CENTCOM, has also defended Americas decision to go to war against the Saddam dictatorship in Iraq, stating that: The intelligence, while not precise, was overwhelming. (2) To reduce human suffering during conflict by safeguarding the fundamental principles of humanity in times of war. In sum, Non-International armed conflict (NIAC) largely concerns intra-State conflict that is, armed conflict that occurs within the territory of a State. At present, 168 States are party to Additional Protocol I and 164 States to Additional Protocol II,this still places the 1977 Additional Protocols among the most widely accepted legal instruments in the world. In the wake of 9/11, that was a risk I was unwilling to take. [36] Pejic, Unlawful/Enemy Combatants: Interpretations and consequences, op. (2) The laws of war do not apply; the US military has a free hand. Despite playing an important role in the progression of what became the International Committee of the Red Cross, continuing his work as champion for the battle-wounded and prisoners of war and winning the first Nobel Peace Prize, Dunant lived and died in near poverty. In addition, these same national forces also failed to prevent, halt, suppress and punish combatants who committed genocide and crimes against humanity against these non-combatant civilians (see blogs #18 Caveats Endanger & Caveats Kill: National Caveats in UN Operations in Angola, Rwanda & Bosnia-Herzegovina, #20 Betrayal & Barbarism in Bosnia: The UNPROFOR Operation, National Caveats & Genocide in the Srebrenica UN Protected Area, #21 Srebrenica Aftermath: Serb Guilt & Dutch Liability for the Genocide in the UNPROFOR Safe Area in Bosnia,and#22 Recommended Viewing: The UN, National Caveats & Human Carnage in Rwanda). clearly illegal under the LOAC to an ordinary person with ordinary common sense).[14]. 31, 32; The circumstances of each will determine whether it legally and factually meets the qualifying conditions as an armed conflict (international or non-international). Articles with the HISTORY.com Editors byline have been written or edited by the HISTORY.com editors, including Amanda Onion, Missy Sullivan and Matt Mullen. This convention produced a treaty designed to protect wounded and sick soldiers during wartime. Our conclusion was that they wereGiven all of this information, and given that the CIA had made a judgement call based on this information, President Bush, in my opinion, would have been negligent not to act (DeLong, A General Speaks Out, ibid., pp.66, 69). In addition to nationally ratified laws of war (e.g. In 1906, the Swiss government arranged a conference of 35 states to review and update improvements to the First Geneva Convention. The truth is that modern conflict has become so extremely complex, intractable and mixed in current times, displaying simultaneously features of both International and Non-International armed conflict especially in modern anti-terrorism campaigns waged against Islamist terrorist groups and terror-using insurgencies in the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa and Asia that it has created grey zones with regard to the appropriate LOAC that leave room for diverse legal interpretation between nations and new evolutions in customs of CIL. Humane treatment includes: (Military Persons Exempt From Attack, pg. International Committee of the Red Cross.Geneva Conventions. Adherence to the sanctions also gradually weakened as a number of governments France, Russia, Germany, and China, among others angled for oil contracts and other business opportunities with the Iraqis. The Conventions apply to all cases ofdeclared warbetween signatory nations. The Law of War requires humane treatment for military personnel who are out of combat (hors de combat) due to capture by enemy forces. Specifically, it required POWs to give only their names, ranks, and serial numbers to their captors. It calls on the parties to the conflict to bring all or parts of the Geneva Conventions into force through"special agreements.". That was not true. It also grantsthe right to proper medical treatment and care. (1) Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, Adding to this confusion is the fact that this definition of torture provided above does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in, or incidental to lawful sanctions (where the meaning of lawful sanctions remains vague and unclear) (Derbyshire, Section Ten: Internees, Detainees and Torture, 149.335 Law of Armed Conflict, op. The requirement to accord humane treatment is recognized as a fundamental guarantee by both Additional Protocols I and II. Under this classification of the LOAC, Taliban and Al Qaeda militants were not entitled to the Prisoner of War (PW) protections given to lawful combatants under Geneva Convention III, nor entitled to any protections from any of the other three Geneva Conventions (regarding lawful combatants that are hors de combat on land or at sea, and protections given to civilians), that together govern International Armed Conflict. Humane treatment includes: (Military Persons Exempt From Attack, pg. This meeting and its resultant treaty signed by 12 nations became known as the First Geneva Convention. This blog is a brief overview of the LOAC, Customary International Law, and the challenges posed to both by modern armed conflict today. All of the passengers of the four civilian flights were killed, in addition to thousands of civilians of 115 different nationalities who were working in the buildings. Its full respect is required. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. Note: This article addresses the international humanitarian law, or law of war. Under this body of International Humanitarian Law for the conduct of war, known as the LOAC, all laws and conventions on armed conflict that have been ratified by a State are binding on that States armed forces and applies in all military situations, whether or not war has been formally declared or recognised.[13]. (3) The laws of war apply but in modified form.' . The first Convention was initiated by what is now theInternational Committee for the Red Cross and Red Crescent(ICRC). The circumstances of each will determine whether it legally and factually meets the qualifying conditions as an armed conflict (international or non-international). It also laid out rules for the daily lives of prisoners and established the International Red Cross as the main neutral organization responsible for collecting and transmitting data about prisoners of war and the wounded or killed. The Geneva Conventions of 1949 also laid out rules for protecting wounded, sick or shipwrecked armed forces at sea or on hospital ships as well as medical workers and civilians accompanying or treating military personnel. Had I not authorized waterboarding on senior al Qaeda leaders, I would have had to accept a greater risk that the country would be attacked. Taliban militants or jihadist foreign fighters), that were captured by the United States or its allies during the wars associated with the broader Global War on Terrorism. But years later, once the threat seemed less urgent and the political winds had shifted, many lawmakers became fierce critics. The Lieber Code (General Orders No. 37,708,430 questions answered Had we captured more al Qaeda operatives with significant intelligence value, I would have used the program for them as well (Bush. But years later, once the threat seemed less urgent and the political winds had shifted, many lawmakers became fierce critics. Humane treatment includes: (Military Persons Exempt From Attack, pg. This agreement extended the protections described in the first Convention to shipwrecked soldiers and other naval forces, including special protections afforded to hospital ships. As military professionals, [Tommy] Franks and I spent many hours examining the reasons for attacking Iraq, and asking ourselves if they were sound. Namely: (1) The unimpeded killing of non-combatant civilians in all three international security operations; (2) The commission of genocide and crimes against humanity against thousands in Rwanda and Bosnia; and. Still is to this day. Internal security emergencies within a State, i.e. They charged that Americans had committed unlawful torture. The riots were essentially a deliberate attempt to conduct reverse ethnic cleansing against the Kosovar Serb population, in direct if belated retaliation for the Serb ethnic cleansing that had been carried out against pro-independence minorities during the previous decade from 1991-1995 in Bosnia and Croatia (see blog #23 Caveat Chaos in Kosovo: Divided Allies & Fettered Forces in NATOs KFOR Operation during the 2004 Kosovo Riots). 81-82 in Geneva Convention III, and pp. American Red Cross.The Battle of Solferino. It also banned the use of weapons that cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering, or cause widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment., According to the Red Cross, Protocol II was established because most victims of armed conflicts since the 1949 Convention were victims of vicious civil wars. Updated: August 21, 2018 | Original: November 17, 2017. In the following blog, #25 Laws of War Brief (Part 2): The Protections, Rights & Obligations of Civilian Non-Combatants & Military Combatants under the LOAC , I will continue this analysis by presenting what is, to the best of my understanding, the most important, mandatory and need-to-know obligations of the LOAC and CIL on all individual military personnel of national armed forces of all ranks, all Services, and all nations around the world. Al Qaeda terrorists (unlawful combatants under the LOAC) captured in Afghanistan.[34]. Two of the hijacked planes were each deliberately flown into the tall Twin Towers buildings of the World Trade Center business complex located in New York city, the third plane into the U.S. Department of Defense Pentagon building in Washington D.C., and the fourth plane targeting either the Presidential White House or the parliamentary Capitol building also in Washington D.C. crashed in a field in Pennsylvania after an uprising of its passengers against the Islamist terrorist hijackers. A punitive war took place firstly in Afghanistan in 2001 against the Taliban regime hosting and shielding Osama Bin Laden, the leader of the Al Qaeda terrorist network. Adherence to the sanctions also gradually weakened as a number of governments France, Russia, Germany, and China, among others angled for oil contracts and other business opportunities with the Iraqis. For under the LOAC, Detaining Powers are clearly permitted to question detainees in order to ascertain their identity and status and to obtain information of military value, and are generally allowed to use skilful interrogation to induce detainees to provide intelligence of worth (NZDF LOAC Manual Chapter 15: Prisoners of War and other persons deprived of their liberty in the course of armed conflict, in Section Nine: Prisoners of War and Other Persons Deprived of Their Liberty, 149.335 Law of Armed Conflict, ibid., p. 36). Had we captured more al Qaeda operatives with significant intelligence value, I would have used the program for them as well (Bush, Decision Points, ibid., pp. This variation in interpretation is especially apparent with respect to, or in contrast to, practices of lawful interrogation in response to national security threats or during national security emergencies where the State is seeking to fulfil its primary responsibility and duty to protect the lives of its citizens. Adding to these legal rights, Article 75(3) of API states, moreover, that Detaining Powers are obligated to release detainees only when the circumstances justifying the arrest, detention or internment have ceased. This is a principle supported by CIL which also allows that detainees may be held in detention against their will if there is a good reason to do so, and as long as reason requires (API Art 75(3) and ICRC Customary IHL Rule 99, in NZDF LOAC Manual, During the early 2000s the Bush Administration sincerely believed and asserted,with full support and confirmation from the Pentagon, the Department of Justice and the CIA, that the U.S. government, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window), Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window), Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window). During the early 2000s the Bush Administration sincerely believed and asserted,with full support and confirmation from the Pentagon, the Department of Justice and the CIA, that the U.S. government was in fact giving fundamentally humane treatment to the terrorist detainees at Guantanamo prison according to the laws of war, by making no adverse distinction based on race, colour, religion, gender, birth, wealth or other criteria, and by providing for all the detainees physical, spiritual and medical needs (food, water, shelter, clothing, freedom of worship, and medical treatment). It requires humane treatment for all persons in enemy hands, without discrimination. CIL refers to practices in warfare that are so consistently upheld and adhered to by a majority of States on the world stage that they have become generally regarded as law. a. This way of thinking resulted in more humane treatment for those officially classified as prisoners of war. futhermore, the animosities generated by terrorism make the postwar peace more difficult to preserve. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. The principle of humane treatment in IHL requires that those who fall into the hands of the enemy be treated with respect for their dignity as human beings. c. In accordance with DoDD 2311.01, all persons subject to this issuance will report Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks against New York and Washington D.C. in the United States in September 2001, America and its coalition of allies went to war against the Al Qaeda terrorist network that had planned and carried out those attacks, and also those States who either hosted and gave refuge to, or materially supported, the terrorist networks leaders and members. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. [30], In a landmark case Hamdi v Rumsfeld, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the U.S. governments inter-State International LOAC categorisation of the conflicts and ruled instead (with two dissenting judges) that these captured terrorists and insurgents were in fact non-State and unlawful Enemy combatants of intra-State, Non-International armed conflicts, since armed conflict was taking place against a non-State actor, the terrorist network Al Qaeda, in the territory of countries that were party to the Geneva Conventions (e.g. unlawful. Since there was no set treaty or law specifically outlining the obligations due to such detainees under the Geneva Conventions when captured by an opposing force, it appeared the problems arising from this new conflict exigency would be best guided by the customs of modern CIL notably, humane treatment consistent with the Geneva Conventions, but subject to military necessity, that of preventing additional, unlawful terrorist attacks against American citizens or those of its allies. . Within the vast body of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) that exists today, LOAC is the field of law that governs all international relations concerned with armed conflict, and is comprised of all international law relating to the existence and conduct of all armed conflict and military occupation. Adopted in 2005 to add another emblem, the "red crystal," to the list of emblems used to identify neutral humanitarian aide workers. It was considered that this LOAC classification change would not only give more formal legal protection to the captured terrorists and extremist insurgents, but also automatically rule out any further use of enhanced interrogation techniques to extract actionable intelligence from the detainees no matter how effective or successful they were which advocates of the classification change deemed inhumane and a form of torture illegal under CIL (see endnote for a discussion on torture, and refer to American President George W. Bushs argument provided in endnote #30 above).[33].
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