**MMPL** Law of Armed Conflict (SHORT/WOODSON)

Question 1

Describe essential principles of the Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC)

Answer 1

Law of Armed Conflict was put in place by countries who wished to have successfully wage war without causing unnecessary damage or suffering to each side. The LOAC/LOW (Law of War) regulates conduct of armed forces while also protecting the injured and innocent. Many documents discuss the LOAC, both at the national and international level.

Human rights law: protect the “Inherit dignity of the human person”
Prohibits mental suffering

Question 2

protection of various categories of potential victims on the battlefield (Combatants, Non-combatants, Unlawful Combatants)

Answer 2

Combatants: The Geneva Convention of 1929 (POWs), GC of ‘49, convention III.

Non-combatants (civilians) : GC of ‘49, convention IV (Articles 32, 38. 76, 91, 92, and 127; see slide #48)

Unlawful combatants (a combatant or non-combatant who directly engages in armed conflict in violation of the laws of war) : No specific literature.

Catch All for detainees/prisoners: UN General Assembly Resolution of ‘88 safeguards

all people, 2002 The UN Standard Minimum Rules for Treatment of Prisoners, ‘48 UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Army Regulation 190-8

Question 3

Discuss provision of medical support to military detainees, prisoners of war, and civilians on the battlefield.

Answer 3

providing the same treatment to the POWs, detainees, and civilians as is provided to our troops is difficult. After all, if a troop needs dialysis, they can be shipped home. We cannot just ship any of the aforementioned people to another location (especially if it’s outside the country.) COL Short suggested that we instead provide fair treatment with the resources we have on hand (ultrasounds, CT machines, etc.) The GC governs how the local population is treated, and Army Regulation 190-8 governs treatment Coalition Forces

Ex) tenets of detention healthcare:

• Detainees deserve same medical care as nationals of the state; same standard of care as soldiers
• Persons must be detained in the occupied country
• Report all sings/symptoms of abuse/torture

Question 4

Interpret and apply the rules of engagement to a given operational or medical scenario.

Answer 4

It is our job as the (future) military medical leaders to understand what laws and prior cases apply to our job. We will be the ones that have to pour over the different statutes and we will need to know how to handle detainees, POWS, and civilians. As COL Short put it: his medics don’t necessarily know the intricacies of the rules; that’s our job. After all, “the duty to care supersedes any blanket notion of loyalty, obligation, allegiance, or patriotism that the physician may feel is owed to his or her station.”

Question 5

Mechanisms that help good people make bad decisions:

Answer 5

Dehumanization- No longer associating a subject/detainee as being human to justify one’s actions.

Categorizing- Us vs them mentality

Shift in Cognition- Change in perspective in war–>more close-minded; enemy=”evil”

Question 6

What promotes physician compliance?

Answer 6

Brainwashing/Ideological totalism-physician loses moral perspective (soc.

Moral disengagement- Classifying a group as less relevant/important due to their political culture

Victim blame- Hold victims responsible for their fate; “This is your fault, if you hadn’t been doing X, then they wouldn’t do Y to you.”

Question 7

physician conflict of interest: “dual loyalty”

Answer 7

we have:

• duty to pt
• duty to our nation/branch of service

Question 8

Basic Overview:The Geneva Conventions

Answer 8

(1949)
series of treaties on the treatment of civilians, prisoners of war (POWs) and soldiers who are otherwise rendered incapable of fighting. The first Convention was initiated by the International Committee for Relief to the Wounded (which became the International Committee for the Red Cross and Red Crescent)

Question 9

Some GC articles pertaining directly to medical care

Answer 9

Convention IV: Under this Convention, civilians are afforded the protections from inhumane treatment and attack afforded in the first Convention to sick and wounded soldiers. Furthermore, additional regulations regarding the treatment of civilians were introduced. Specifically, it prohibits attacks on civilian hospitals, medical transports, etc. It also specifies the right of internees, and those who commit acts of sabotage. Finally, it discusses how occupiers are to treat an occupied populace.

Question 10

1948 UN Universal declaration of human rights: prohibits…

Answer 10

acts causing mental suffering

**“an order from a superior officer does not excuse a violation”