In the same case, the Appeals Chamber (20 February 2001, § 73) concluded that already in 1949 the legal link of nationality was not considered decisive and took into account special cases. The nationality requirement set out in article 4 of the Fourth Geneva Convention should therefore be established within the framework of the object and purpose of humanitarian law, which is “to ensure the greatest possible protection of civilians” (para. 73). Therefore, the application of the nationality condition should not be based solely on the legal and formal criteria set out in national law. ICTY jurisprudence has held that “protected persons” may include victims of the same nationality as the perpetrators of a crime, for example when such perpetrators act on behalf of a State that does not grant diplomatic protection to such victims or to whom victims do not owe loyalty. In this protocol, the basics of “humane treatment” have been specified. In addition, the rights of internees have been specifically enumerated to ensure the protection of persons accused of crimes committed during the war. It also identified new protections and rights for civilians. The Statute of the Permanent International Criminal Court (ICC) was adopted on 17 July 1998 and entered into force on 1 July 2002. It has jurisdiction over persons accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
Its definition of war crimes includes deliberate attacks on medical personnel and units, personnel using distinctive emblems protected by the Geneva Conventions, and personnel involved in humanitarian assistance or peacekeeping missions (provided that they are entitled to the protection afforded to civilians under the law of armed conflict). The ICC has the power to prosecute the perpetrators of such attacks, whether committed in international or internal armed conflicts (Articles 8.2.b.iii, 8.2.e.ii and 8.2.e.iii of the ICC Statute). The legal definition of prisoners of war is given in article 4 of paragraph 3. Geneva Convention and applies to the following persons who have “fallen into the hands of the enemy”: – the entire civilian population: all civilians must be protected from the effects of hostilities – in other words, they must not be attacked (Art. 48-51). They must also be able to obtain all necessary repairs (CGIV Art. 23, API Art. 68-71). They also benefit from the fundamental guarantees protected by the Conventions (GCI-IV Common Art. 3, API Art. 75) ; Theoretically, humanitarian law uses the term protected persons only in the context of international armed conflicts, as the exact term is not used in relation to internal armed conflicts.
Nevertheless, for the sake of simplicity, we will use it in this post to qualify the notion of protection to which individuals are entitled, including in non-international conflicts. International humanitarian law identifies a total of fifteen categories of protected persons in international armed conflicts and five in internal conflicts. Although they signed the conventions, there are a few notable and often criticized cases in the United States involving behavior that would otherwise be prohibited by the conventions, such as Hamdi v. Rumsfield (2004). In Hamdi, a United States citizen was accused of being a member of Taliban forces on United States soil as an “enemy combatant” and was arrested by unilateral decision of the executive branch; The United States Supreme Court ruled on the validity of his detention. Hamdi argued that such detention was illegal under the Geneva Conventions without explicit congressional approval. The court rejected this argument and ruled that consent had been given since March 11. It was granted in September 2001 by an Armed Forces Use Authorization (AUMF), a congressional resolution authorizing the President to use all necessary and appropriate forces against nations, organizations, or individuals he deemed planned, authorized, engaged, or supported on September 11. 2001 attacks. Children are protected as victims of armed conflict. They can benefit from special hospital and security zones in peacetime and the outbreak of hostilities, the evacuation of besieged or surrounded areas.
[72] The necessary measures must be taken to ensure their maintenance, the practice of religion and, if possible, education by persons of the same nationality. [73] They enjoy the same preferential treatment as nationals of the adverse party. In addition, Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Convention establishes uniform protection for all sick, wounded and shipwrecked, regardless of their military or civilian status. In return, the sick and wounded must refrain from hostile behaviour in order to benefit from this protection. [11] [26] Nationals of a State that is not a party to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 are not protected by the provisions of the Conventions. The Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols constitute a body of international law, also known as the humanitarian law of armed conflict, whose purpose is to ensure minimum protection, standards of humane treatment and fundamental guarantees of respect for victims of armed conflict. The Geneva Conventions are a series of treaties concerning the treatment of civilians, prisoners of war and soldiers who are otherwise hors de combat (French, literally “hors du combat”) or who are incapacitated. The first convention was initiated by the current International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (ICRC). This convention led to a treaty to protect wounded and sick soldiers in wartime. The Swiss government agreed to hold the conventions in Geneva, and a few years later a similar agreement was drafted to protect shipwrecked soldiers.
In 1949, after the Second World War, two new conventions were added and the Geneva Conventions entered into force on 21 October 1950. Ratifications have steadily increased over the decades: 74 States ratified the conventions in the 1950s, 48 States in the 1960s, 20 States signed in the 1970s and 20 more States did so in the 1980s. Twenty-six countries ratified the conventions in the early 1990s, mainly after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia and the former Yugoslavia. Seven new ratifications since 2000 have brought the total number of States parties to 194, making the Geneva Conventions universally applicable. While the Geneva Conventions of 1949 have been universally ratified, the Additional Protocols have not. At present, 168 States are parties to Additional Protocol I and 164 States are parties to Additional Protocol II, making the 1977 Additional Protocols one of the most widely used legal instruments in the world. The Geneva Conventions grant women special protection in all circumstances. Wounded and sick women (military, prisoners of war) are treated according to their sex. [68] During captivity, they should be housed in separate male dormitories, have separate facilities,[69] be under the supervision of women.
[70] “Women shall enjoy special protection against any attack on their honour, in particular rape, forced prostitution or any form of immoral review.” [54] Pregnant women, women giving birth, breastfeeding women or young children under 7 years of age are considered sick and injured. [71] Each treaty state has a legal obligation to search for and prosecute on its territory persons suspected of having committed such crimes, regardless of the nationality of the suspect or victim or the place where the offence is alleged to have been committed. The State may surrender the suspect to another State or to an international tribunal for trial. If domestic law does not permit the exercise of universal jurisdiction, a State must enact the necessary domestic legislation before it can do so and must effectively exercise its jurisdiction, unless it surrenders the suspect to another country or to an international tribunal. Protected persons have certain rights to privacy and access to records and documents. They should be able to express their opinions on issues surrounding their lives (including concerns about the person appointed to protect them) if they are mentally capable of doing so. In most cases, the conservator does not immediately take charge of all decisions. A number of human rights affect civilians: International humanitarian law protects a wide range of people and property in armed conflict. The Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols protect the sick, wounded and shipwrecked not taking part in hostilities, prisoners of war and other prisoners, civilians and civilian objects. Read more The legal definition of a protected person in Colorado is as follows: United Nations personnel may also benefit from specific provisions of humanitarian law. In situations where United Nations personnel were involved, it was important to distinguish between humanitarian personnel conducting relief operations and personnel protected by their civilian status and military personnel who could participate, for example, in peacekeeping operations.
