Basically, international law prohibits causing unnecessary suffering to combat soldiers or the civilian population. We gathered seven situations prohibited by international treaties. Most of these agreements were signed in the Swiss city of Geneva, between 1864 and 1949, being expanded by other agreements approved in 1977. This set of laws, signed by more than 180 countries (including Brazil), is known as the Geneva Conventions. “These laws need to keep up with the changes brought about by new weapons and more advanced forms of combat. Therefore, it is important to update these rules”, says British jurist Peter Rowe, from the University of Lancaster, in the United Kingdom.
Another even bigger problem is that, in many wars, the laws are solemnly ignored on the battlefield. An attempt to increase the effectiveness of war legislation took place in 1998, when the UN organized a diplomatic conference that resulted in the so-called Rome Statute. The statute led to the creation of the International Criminal Court, established in 2002 as a court charged with trying crimes and serious violations of the laws that regulate international and civil wars across the globe.
Dirty game
Legislation that reduces suffering in battles is always disrespected
ATTACK ON CIVILIANS
WHAT THE LAW SAYS – It is forbidden to carry out attacks against civilians not engaged in battle, including any sexual violence
CASES OF RAPE – During the Bosnian War, between 1992 and 1995, Serb soldiers murdered thousands of civilians, raped Muslim women and castrated boys
USE OF CHILDREN AS FIGHTERS
WHAT THE LAW SAYS – It is prohibited to recruit or use children under the age of 15 in the armed forces or employ them as combatants
CASES OF VIOLATION – In the civil war waged since 1983 in Sudan, Africa, more than 10,000 children under the age of 15 served as soldiers both in the country’s army and in rebel groups fighting against the government
SURRENDERED SOLDIERS
WHAT THE LAW SAYS – It is forbidden to kill or injure soldiers who have laid down their weapons or are not in a position to defend themselves
CASES OF VIOLATION – In 1940, during World War II, Soviet soldiers executed more than 10,000 Polish soldiers in a prisoner of war camp in Russia
TORTURE
WHAT THE LAW SAYS – Inhumane treatment of prisoners, including physical or psychological torture, is prohibited
VIOLATION CASES – Following the US-led coalition victory in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, US soldiers tortured Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad
CHEMICAL WEAPONS
WHAT THE LAW SAYS – It is forbidden to use toxic gases and other types of chemical weapons, or to use weapons capable of causing inhuman injuries
BREACH CASES – In World War I (1914-1918), the German Army developed and used various types of asphyxiating gases as weapons of war
ATTACKS ON PEACE MISSIONS
WHAT THE LAW SAYS – It is prohibited to attack personnel and units participating in peacekeeping missions or humanitarian assistance
VIOLATION CASES – Since 1978, more than 70 UN peacekeepers have been killed in the civil war in Lebanon
ATTACK ON INSTITUTIONS
WHAT THE LAW SAYS – It is forbidden to attack churches or religious buildings, historic monuments, hospitals and other places with sick and injured people
CASES OF VIOLATION – During the civil war on the island of Sri Lanka (in the Indian Ocean), which began in 1983 and continues to this day, the government has been accused of bombing temples frequented by the Tamil population, a minority in the country