Writing Rules of War

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27 December 2010

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Writing the Rules of War

An attempt to inject a small amount of

Humanity into the inhumane business of warfare

The First Geneva Convention, which was signed in 1864, was ratified within three years by all the European great powers, as well as by many lesser states. It concerned itself mostly with helping wounded soldiers and prisoners of war. It was changed and added to by the Second Geneva Convention in 1907.

Hague Conference Aimed at Arms Reductions

In 1899 and 1907, the Hague Conventions were negotiated. The first Conference was convened at the invitation of Count Mikhail Nikolayevich Muravyov. He was the minister of foreign affairs of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, and he wanted limits to be placed on the growth of armed forces.

The conference failed to agree on arms reductions, but it did adopt conventions defining the conditions of a state of war and other customs relating to war on land and sea.

This gathering also banned the use of expanding bullets (so-called dum-dum bullets that caused horrible wounds) and asphyxiating gases. These two items were dropped at a subsequent conference in 1907.

Rather quaintly, from the vantage point of a world with intercontinental missiles and supersonic military aircraft, the Hague Conference of 1899 banned the dropping of projectiles and explosives from balloons.

Protection for Prisoners of War

The First World War revealed many deficiencies in the early Conventions so new conferences were called to fix the problems.

During World War I Australian soldiers help an injured German. Generally, during that blood-soaked conflict troops treated their enemies humanely when they were wounded or captured.

In 1929, the Third Geneva Convention went into more depth about the protection of prisoners of war (POWs). This Convention stated that nations at war must treat prisoners humanely, supply information about them, and permit visits to prison camps by representatives of neutral states.

After capture, POWs were required to give their name and rank and could not be forced to yield up any other information. They were also allowed to keep any personal possessions, other than weapons and horses, they had with them when captured.

The Convention also governed how prisoner of war camps should be set up and operated. In general, these camps were to offer similar living conditions as those provided to the soldiers by their own armies.

Privileges for Humane

Treatment Restricted to Lawful Combatants

However, the protection offered to prisoners of war extends only to people defined as “lawful combatants.” These are members of the armed forces of one of the parties engaged in the conflict. They must be in uniform and carry their weapons openly.

That said, if any enemy invaded and the local people did not have time to organize an army with uniforms they could still be defined as lawful combatants so long as they carried their weapons openly and respected all the laws and customs of warfare.

Exceptions to these rules were for medical and religious personnel. Even though these people usually wore uniforms they were considered non-combatants by the Convention. Medical personnel were also allowed to carry small arms that they could use in self-defence if illegally attacked.

Most of these early conventions were created in a spirit of idealism that did not survive the outbreak of World War II in September 1939.

The Japanese, in particular treated prisoners of war with brutality, starvation, and slave labour as seen in this image of an emaciated Allied soldier who has just been liberated from a prisoner of war camp.

That conflict with Germany, Italy, and Japan led to a renewed effort to write new and expanded rules to govern the conduct of war.

Source

International Committee of the Red Cross.

GENEVA CONVENTIONS

1864 – Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded on the Field of Battle

1928 – Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating Gas and Bacteriological Methods of Warfare

1949 – (Convention I) Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in the Armed Forces in the Field

1949 – (Convention II) Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in the Armed Forces at Sea

1949 – (Convention III) Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War

1949 – (Convention IV) Relative to the Protection of Civilian persons in Time of War

1975 – Prohibition of the Development, Production, and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction

1977 – Protocols I and II Improve the Legal Protection of Civilians and the Wounded and Introduce Detailed Humanitarian Rules in Times of Civil War

Animation about the Creation of the Red Cross and the Geneva Conventions

CLUSTER WEAPONS

According to Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, “Cluster munitions typically contain dozens to hundreds of small, explosive sub-munitions. They have been used in more than 30 countries and territories with devastating impact on civilians, who account for 98 percent of all recorded casualties. Children are particularly vulnerable.”

The international community began a process in February 2007 leading up to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which bans the making, stockpiling and use of these weapons. Canada signed the Convention in December 2008 and in August 2010, it received enough signatures to enter into force.