Law: Geneva Convention - Article Example

GENEVA CONVENTION ___________________ A Paper Presented to Dr. ???? ???????? of the ___________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Course [Name of the Course] ___________________ by Your Full Name Here Month Year Box #???? GENEVA CONVENTION The Geneva Convention has as its basis respect for human beings and their dignity. It states that individuals who are not involved in the hostilities due to sickness, injuries or for any other reason, must be respected and protected from the outcomes of armed conflict. As such, the conflicting armies should not harm these individuals. Moreover, the armed forces must not discriminate against them in any manner. There are additional sets of rules that address the extension of the action field and relating it to any individual, who participates in armed conflict. These additional protocols require the combatants to refrain from attacking civilians and their property. These protocols also require the conflicting sides to respect and carry out their military operations in compliance with the international human rights laws1. Some of the objectives of the Geneva Convention are describe in the sequel. It aims to protect the victims of armed conflicts. For this purpose, the convention had provided a set of written rules for universal application. These rules are applicable to any state regardless of whether the nation is a member to the Convention or not. Thus the convention has a multilateral nature that encompasses all the nations of the world. This Convention requires the nations of the world to extend their protection and care without any discrimination to the wounded and sick members of the armed forces2. There are customary laws that are applicable to all wars and these have been in existence for quite some time. These rules of war are applicable to every country, irrespective of whether it is a member of the Geneva Convention. War crimes are violations of the customary laws of war. The Geneva Convention lays down certain rights under Article 3 of Convention I. These rights are part and parcel of basic human rights, and include the right not to be tortured, mutilated, raped, taken into slavery, and not to be killed willfully. These customary laws also prohibit genocide and certain crimes against humanity. A breach of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide is deemed to be genocide. Under this Convention, genocide is considered to be a crime and attracts the provisions of international law. Genocide should not be perpetrated, in any manner, either during times of peace or in times of war. It is defined by the Convention as acts that aim to bring about the destruction of a nation either wholly or in part. It is also an act that is committed with the intent to destroy a race, ethnic or religious group. Acts of genocide include the murder of or the causing of serious injuries to members of a particular group. Crimes that adopt measures to prevent births in a particular ethnic group or to transfer children pertaining to one group to another group also come under acts of genocide3. The first Geneva Convention and the second Geneva Conventions cover land and sea, respectively. These Conventions aim to better the lot of the sick and wounded in the armed forces and field; and the shipwrecked, wounded and sick armed forces members at sea. The Red Cross organization was based on the principles of these two conventions. The main idea of these Conventions states that if a member of the warring forces becomes wounded or sick, which disables him from taking an active part in the proceedings of the war, then such a soldier is to be considered a vulnerable person who requires medical care and protection from the enemy forces4. These two Conventions cover the common issues relating to the wounded members of the armed forces engaged in a war. They mainly concentrate on the provision of care and protection to the sick, wounded and shipwrecked members of these armed forces. Members of a warring faction are required to treat a wounded, sick or shipwrecked enemy as if that person was one of their own. The dead bodies of soldiers should be collected as quickly as possible, and there should be a medical verification of the death. The cadavers should be identified and protected from robbery. In addition, the Conventions have directed that medical equipment, facilities, and vehicles should not be attacked and destroyed intentionally by the fighting armies5. The Third Geneva Convention deals with the treatment of prisoners of war. This Convention deems the prisoners of war as persons in the power of the enemy state. This Convention has categorically stated that such prisoners of war are not under the power of the enemy troops that had captured them. The fourth Geneva Convention deals with the protection of civilian persons in times of war. It is applicable to every person, who has not joined in the hostilities, but all the same is captured by enemy troops or a force of occupation6. Previously there had existed a number of treaties to protect the victims of war. However, these treaties were limited to their signatories, and were in operation only for that particular war. That was the situation obtaining till the middle of the nineteenth century. Moreover these agreements concentrated principally on military interests. In 1864 the Geneva Convention was formulated, which brought about major changes to this situation. It proposed certain principles, which have formed the basis for the development of modern human rights7. The Geneva Convention requires nations to respect medical care providing personnel, their vehicles, their medical equipment, and medical establishments in the war zone. The Convention had provided a unique emblem to the medical personnel, a Red Cross on a white background. Moreover, it ensured that modern humanitarian law was inextricably intertwined with the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movements. The Geneva Convention has engendered humanitarian law to a major extent. Subsequent to the formation of the Geneva Convention, all the countries of the world were made subservient to its rules. These rules are applicable to each and every conflict8. The 1949 conventions extend protection to journalists in the combat zone, who accompany the armed forces, in order to obtain news. If these journalists are wounded or fall ill, they have to be provided with all the facilities made available to the wounded or sick soldiers, and prisoners of war9. In the 1977 conventions, journalists were classified as civilians. Consequently, journalists and reporters in civilian clothing, which would differentiate them from the armed forces, were entitled to receive the wider range of protective measures that were generally offered to civilians10. Several international agreements and treaties had expressed disapproval of the practice of torture by public officials in their official capacity. Some treaties sought the complete prohibition of such torture. At present, the customary law prohibits torture. The first and foremost international treaty that prohibits torture is the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. This treaty was ratified by the US and some 140 other countries. This treaty is known as the CAT, and its signatories have to initiate measures to eradicate torture within their respective national boundaries and other territorial jurisdictions. It also requires them to make torture a criminal act11. CAT has provided an appropriate and generalized definition for the term torture. Under this definition, torture is defined as the administration of extreme physical pain and mental suffering to the victim, ostensibly as a legal act. CAT does not allow the infliction of torture under any circumstances. The United States ratified the CAT with some reservations. In the US, the Convention cannot operate on its own to enforce the law. Hence, the US had to incorporate the obligations of CAT into domestic legislation by enacting sections 2340 and 2340A of the United States Criminal Code. Under these sections all acts of torture are criminal acts. Moreover, the US Criminal Code also prohibits torture outside the US12. The fourth Geneva Convention provides protections to nonprivileged or unlawful combatants. These protections are contained in the Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions. The United States refused to ratify Protocol I. However, it respects and implements the provisions of Protocol I, duly considering them to be the provisions of customary international law. Article 75 provides the fundamental guarantees that establish the principles for humane treatment to civilians and members of the armed forces who are affected by the war13. As such, Geneva Convention provides several rights to prisoners of war. These rights differ between ordinary prisoners and unlawful combatants. Any person arrested on charges of committing war crimes will be prosecuted for crimes against humanity, as also for criminal acts that are not associated with the armed conflict. The Geneva Convention insists that prisoners of war must be accorded with humane treatment. In order to ensure humane treatment, it empowers the International Committee of the Red Cross to pay frequently visits to prisoner of war camps. This is a significant measure, because the government that detains prisoners of war must follow the recommendations of the members of the Committee14. Opposition to Guantanamo Bay incarceration centre criticizes the US government for having detained individuals without trial. However, these critics willingly ignore the fact that the home countries of the detainees are not permitting their return. Some of these detainees would of a certainty be imprisoned by their respective governments, as most of them have committed acts of indiscriminate violence against other humans. Their crimes will not be forgiven by their fellow citizens. Subsequent to the September 11, 2001 attacks and their consequences, the United Nations clearly failed to arrive at an appropriate definition for terrorism. Even five years after the attacks, it failed to find the ways and means to counter terrorism and its challenges. As a result, the Geneva Convention could not incorporate the status of unlawful combatants who had been detained by the US and whose home countries refused to acknowledge them. As such, unlawful combatants constitute a new genre. They cannot be detained under the ordinary laws of a nation, and a new model detention facility has to be created to detain them. The Guantanamo Bay is that new kind of jail. Since they waged a new kind of war which is different from the customary wars, they must not be labeled as prisoners of war. The Geneva Convention defines prisoners of war. The detainees at the Guantanamo Bay do not fall under that definition. Therefore, the rights and due course as provided by the conventions do not apply to them15. It is highly debatable as to whether the Geneva Convention can be applied in the war against terrorism. The US argued that the covenants and treaties of the Geneva Convention were inapplicable to its war against terrorism. It refused to extend the protection provided by those conventions to the prisoners detained by it in the war with al Qaeda and the Taliban regime. The US justifies this by holding that it did not wage a war against a nation or territory. It had launched a war against terrorist groups, and while doing so it did not recognize the Taliban regime as the government of Afghanistan. It is unfair and unjust to condone torture as a method of interrogation, because such a presumption would lead to several other abuses16. Bibliography “Background Paper on Geneva Conventions and Persons Held by U.S. Forces,” Human Rights Watch Press Backgrounder, 29 January 2002; available from http://www.hrw.org/backgrounder/usa/pow-bck.htm. Convention I, Art. 13, Sec. 4; Convention II, Art. 13, Sec. 4 and Convention III, Art. 4, Sec. 4. Garcia, Michael John, “U.N. Convention Against Torture (CAT): Overview and Application to Interrogation Techniques,” CRS Report for Congress, 25 January 2006; available from https://www.policyarchive.org/bitstream/handle/10207/2100/RL32438_20060125.pdf?sequence=4. Geneva Conventions, available from http://www.redcross.lv/en/conventions.htm. Geneva Convention an introduction, learn peace. A Peace Pledge Union Project; available from http://www.ppu.org.uk/learn/texts/doc_geneva_con.html. Mansur, Salim. "Gitmo captives not POWs, just prisoners; Geneva Convention rules dont apply." The Toronto Sun, November 15, 2006; Pg. 9. OBrien, Ed. "Torture and the War on Terror Social Education." Torture and the War on Terror Social Education, Nov-Dec 2004: v68 n7 p453. (EJ708528). Protocol I, Article 79. Trombly, Maria , Geneva Conventions. A reference guide, Society of Professional Journalists, 2003; available from http://www.genevaconventions.org Read More