Geneva Convention Laws Gain Relevancy

These images, portraying the impact of armed conflict in a range of countries between 1971 and 2006, are part of a photographic exhibition entitled ‘Humanity in the Midst of Conflict' which opened at the National Archives of Australia, Canberra, to mark the 30th anniversary of the Additional Protocols I and II to the 1949 Geneva Convention.

{styleboxjp}The protocols remain key to protecting civilians in conflict and further limiting the conduct of warfare. ”These photos highlight the humanitarian consequences of armed conflict. They also remind us that, even in war, there are limits”, says Pauline Wall from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC){/styleboxjp}.

If war was complex in 1977, it has become more so in 2007. Armed conflict today is seldom state against state, but is more often internal, involving a wide variety of actors. Civilians increasingly bear the brunt of war, representing over 90 percent of the victims of today's conflicts. As well as being caught up in the fighting as so-called ”collateral damage”, they are often targeted, as has been demonstrated in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Far too often, those who carry arms do not respect International Humanitarian Law (IHL). These photographs, taken by professional photographers and Red Cross staff, bring home the cruel reality that armed conflicts continue to have on civilians. ”Civilians may be subject to violence, loss of home and contact with family members, become displaced, and have lack of access to food, water and medical facilities,” says Jean-Luc Metzker, head of the ICRC's regional delegation for the Pacific.

The 1977 Additional Protocols, which supplement the 1949 Geneva Conventions, came into being in response to the changing face of warfare, in particular the emergence of guerrilla warfare and technical advances in weapons technology. The expansion of the battlefield into civilian areas posed tremendous risks to civilian populations, and the Protocols strengthen protection for the victims of armed conflict. Additional Protocol II for the first time extended the protection of civilians in civil wars.

While the Protocols are universally accepted, the world is replete with examples of the law of war being flouted. Civilians are paying the highest price in today's conflicts whether it is Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan or Colombia or the hundreds of people still living in the shadow of conflict in Rwanda and the Balkans. Terror campaigns against civilians, the use of rape as a weapon of war, the recruitment of child soldiers, forced displacement have become common in the post 9/11 world.

But as Dr Philip Spoerri, ICRC's Director for International Law and Cooperation writes, ”The real value of the Additional Protocols lies less in the good they have achieved than in the yet greater evil they have helped to prevent.”

{styleboxjp float=left}War criminals can no longer claim impunity as they are being brought to justice by international criminal tribunals like the one for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. The establishment in 2002 of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the world's first permanent war crimes court, is a step ahead. Charles Taylor, the former president of Liberia, is awaiting trial in The Hague for alleged war crimes relating to the conflict in Sierra Leone{/styleboxjp}.

Most conflicts since the Second World War have been non-international. The only provision in the Geneva Conventions of 1949 is Article 3. Although it sets out basic principles for protecting people/persons in wartime, Article 3 is not enough to solve the serious problems of humanitarian concern that arise in internal conflicts.

The Protocols clearly state that distinction should be made between civilians and combatants and between civilian and military objectives. Acts or threats of violence, the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population are also prohibited.

As Legal Adviser to ICRC Regional Delegation for the Pacific Nicole Hogg says, ”What we need today, and what the 30th anniversary of the 1977 Protocols reminds us, is that all parties to a conflict should adhere to the rule of law and protect civilians. We should also not forget that all people in enemy hands are entitled to a minimum standard of protection -- without exception and regardless of how they are labelled.”

Australia is one of 167 states party to Additional Protocol I and one of 163 states party to Additional Protocol II. The 1977 Additional Protocols are among the most widely accepted legal instruments in the world.

”Australia, a party to both the Additional Protocols, is committed to their continuing validity particularly in today's contemporary conflict situations when civilians are at risk, and are the victims and therefore require the increased protections which the Protocols provide”, says Richard Rowe, member of the Australian delegation to the Additional Protocols negotiations and First Assistant Secretary, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

A number of regional conferences, seminars, exhibitions and media events are being held from Bangkok, Beijing, Bogotá to Geneva, New Delhi and Sydney, to raise public awareness and understanding of the continuing relevance of the two protocols.

{styleboxjp}As Hogg says, ”Despite an increasingly polarised world, standards developed over time and in response to a recognised need must be upheld. The Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions are as relevant today as they were in 1977 and, indeed, remain among the most essential references of international humanitarian law”{/styleboxjp}.

More pessimistic observers said there is little to celebrate as political will to implement and enforce the International Humanitarian Law remains insufficient. Only public pressure can have any real impact and lessen the suffering of civilians, women and children caught in conflict situations, they say.

Source: IPS - Inter Press Service News Agency

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