LAW OF ARMED CONFLICTS/IHL Flashcards
What is the main objective of the law of war?
To facilitate the restoration of peace and safeguard fundamental human rights
The law of war seeks to reconcile military needs with humanitarian requirements.
What are the principal sources of the law of war?
Custom and Treaties/Conventions
Treaties represent attempts to codify customary law.
What is a ‘Party to a Treaty’?
A state bound by the international treaties it accepted by ratification or accession.
Define ‘Combatants’ in the context of the law of war.
Members of the armed forces, except medical and religious personnel, engaged in combat.
What is a ‘Neutral State’?
A state formally or in fact not party to a given armed conflict.
What is the role of a ‘Protecting Power’?
A neutral state designated to ensure compliance with the law of war and to perform specific tasks regarding prisoners and civilians.
What does ‘Military Necessity’ justify?
Measures required to overpower the enemy that are not forbidden by law.
Fill in the blank: A prisoner of war is any _______.
combatant who has fallen into the power of the enemy.
What are ‘Military Objectives’?
Military installations or platforms that are legitimate targets in armed conflict.
What is ‘Civil Defence’?
Volunteer civilian population assigned to tasks for the protection of civilians during war or disaster.
List the main principles of treatment for prisoners of war.
- Humanity
- Protection
- Respect
- Women and Children
- Equality
- Elimination
- Protection from Bombardment and Chemical Warfare
True or False: Military medical and religious personnel are considered combatants.
False
What constitutes a grave breach of the conventions?
- Willful killing or torture of prisoners
- Unlawfully destroying property protected by conventions
- Compelling prisoners to serve in armed forces
- Unlawful deportation of inhabitants of occupied territory
What is the Geneva Convention 1949?
An internationally recognized code of conduct for warfare that provides for the protection and treatment of prisoners of war.
What is ‘Levee en masse’?
Inhabitants who spontaneously take up arms to resist invading forces without having time to form organized units.