Archive for August 11th, 2006

Aug 11 2006

Mechanism required to ensure respect for civilians in times of conflict

Published by under Blogs

Daoud Kuttab

Whenever a war breaks out anywhere in the world, you often hear some people say things like, “there are no rules governing warfare. This, of course, is incorrect. There are definitely laws applicable to war, the same as there are laws for times of peace. In fact what is now referred to as international humanitarian law has developed in the past years to include all international laws, conventions and charters dealing specifically with conduct during wartime. Naturally when you define what is allowed and what is not allowed in times of war, you have no choice but to also deal with war crimes. On the eve of the US-led war on Iraq, I helped put online (www.crimesofwar.org) a series of articles in Arabic designed to help journalists and the public recognise the difference between acts of war and crimes of war.

Writing on this website after the outbreak on the war on Lebanon, Anthony Dworkin, director of the International Crimes of War Project, lists several  issues that must be taken into consideration when assessing whether a war crime has been committed. “First, it is forbidden to direct an attack against civilians who are not taking an active part in hostilities.  Second, it is forbidden to attack civilian objects unless they make an effective contribution to your enemy’s military operations. Thirdly, it is against the law to launch indiscriminate attacks —  attacks that cannot be directed at a specific military target. Attacks are also considered indiscriminate if they violate the principle of proportionality.

 

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