Transcript journalism.berkeley.edu

Human Rights vs.
International Humanitarian Law
Human Rights
•
The rights possessed by all individuals by virtue
of being human
•
Indivisible, inalienable, and universal
•
May be restricted in times of disturbance or
conflict
Human Rights vs.
International Humanitarian Law
International humanitarian Law
• Protects persons who are not or are no longer
participating in hostilities
• Restricts the means and methods of warfare
• Apply to all parties taken part in an armed conflict
The Geneva Conventions of 1949
• Convention for the amelioration of the Condition of the
wounded and sick in armed forces
• Convention for the amelioration of the Condition of the
wounded, sick and shipwrecked members of the armed forces at sea
• Convention relative to the treatment of prisoners of war
• Convention relative to the protection of civilians in time of war
(180 States Party)
Additional Protocols
• Protocol I:
Protection of Victims of International Armed
Conflict ( 154 States Party)
• Protocol II:
Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed
Conflict (147 States Party)
Common Article 3
Each party to the conflict shall be bound to apply, as a minimum, the following:
• Persons taking no active part in the hostilities shall in all circumstances be treated
humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, color, religion…
The following acts are prohibited:
•
•
•
•
Violence to life and person, murder, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture
taking of hostages
outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment
passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment,
affording all the judicial guarantees that are recognized as indispensable
The wounded and sick shall be collected and cared for.
An impartial humanitarian body, such as the ICRC may offer its services the
Parties to the conflict.
Armed Conflict
International Armed Conflict
• Four Geneva Conventions
• Additional Protocol I
• All of the third Convention
• Fourth convention
Non-international Armed Conflict
• Article 3 Common to the Four Geneva Conventions
• Additional Protocol II
Genocide Convention
Article 2 of the Genocide Convention of 1948 defines genocide as:
“any of the following acts committed with the intent to destroy, in
whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as
such:
• killing members of the group
• Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group
• Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to
bring about its physical destruction, in whole or in part
• Imposing measure intended to prevent births within the group
• Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.”
Five Main Principles of IHL
•
Civilian Immunity
• Protected Objects and Property
• Protection of Soldiers
•
Proportionality
•
Military Necessity
War Crimes:
Grave Breaches of the Geneva Convention:
•Willful killing
•Torture or inhuman treatment
•Willfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health
•Extensive destruction and appropriation of property…
•Compelling a POW or civilian to serve in the forces of a hostile power
•Willfully depriving a prisoner of war or protected civilians of the rights
of a fair and regular trial
•Unlawful deportation or transfer of a protected civilian
•Unlawful confinement of a protected civilian; and
•Taking of hostages
Grave Breaches
Additional Protocol I
• Certain medical experimentation
•Making civilians and non-defended localities the object or
inevitable victims of attack
•The perfidious use of the red cross or red crescent emblem
•Transfer of an occupying power or parts of its population to occupied territory
•Unjustifiable delays in repatriation of POWs
•Apartheid
•Attack on historic monuments and
•Depriving protected persons of a fair trial.