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Questions tagged [geneva-convention]

Questions related to the 1949 Geneva Convention and the three Geneva Protocols that acted as amendments relating to the protection of victims of (non-)international armed conflicts, and the addition of the Red Crystal protective sign.

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Does the IDF claim that the Hamas tunnel(s?) under al-Shifa were not in use for a month or so before the IDF entered them?

There's a video posted by the IDF in which they seem to say that Hamas sealed the tunnels under Al-Shifa about a month before the IDF reached them. So, what does that mean, more exactly? That Hamas ...
got trolled too much this week's user avatar
9 votes
6 answers
11k views

Why isn't bombing cities under any circumstance a war crime? Same applies to launching attacks from cities

While there are rules in place, I think within the Geneva Conventions, regarding the protection of civilian infrastructure, the legal interpretation and application can vary. Deliberately targeting ...
Mocas's user avatar
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7 votes
1 answer
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What is the status of civilians occupying territories in a war, under international conventions?

Consider wars in which civilian population of an occupying country move into occupied land. For example, Russian population moving into Crimea, Mariupol or other Ukrainian territories. Israeli ...
Registered User's user avatar
10 votes
1 answer
3k views

What does the Geneva Convention suggest in a situation where the military is deliberately operating from heavily populated areas?

I don't think it's particularly controversial to claim that Hamas is operating various military infrastructure from within heavily populated areas in Gaza. In particular, they're using a hospital as ...
JonathanReez's user avatar
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10 votes
1 answer
1k views

How can Israeli compliance with the Geneva Conventions be tracked in Gaza in the coming weeks?

Article 51 of Protocol I to the Geneva Convention, (protocol to which Israel is not a signatory) puts the following constraints on attacks in civilian areas: Article 51 — Protection of the civilian ...
Italian Philosophers 4 Monica's user avatar
18 votes
2 answers
4k views

Has there ever been an attempt to charge Israel, or its officials, with a war crime for changing the demography of the occupied Palestinian West Bank?

Under the Fourth Geneva Convention, changing the demographic composition of an occupied territory is considered a violation of international humanitarian law and classified as a war crime. The ...
Mocas's user avatar
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6 votes
2 answers
329 views

Is there a process for certifying that a signatory to Geneva conventions is a bad-faith signatory?

Geneva conventions create a different (greater) set of obligations, by signatory states, towards the other signatory states than they do towards the non-signatory ones. This creates an incentive for ...
wrod's user avatar
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2 votes
3 answers
1k views

Do the Geneva Conventions apply to terrorists or conflicts not of an international character?

Could terrorists and insurgents be considered unlawful combatants? In such a case would the Geneva Conventions (even the third convention) not protect them?
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16 votes
4 answers
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Would a tit-for-tat retaliation against Russian civilian infrastructure be a violation of the Geneva convention?

Ukraine is currently suffering from a series of Russian attacks against civilian infrastructure, which might soon result in the entire country not having access to electricity. Does the Geneva ...
JonathanReez's user avatar
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35 votes
4 answers
11k views

Are power plants legitimate military targets under international law?

I've seen clips and articles stating that recent Russian attacks on Ukrainian power plants amount to "War Crimes". This seems right to me but I couldn't find any resource explicitly ...
Slack Groverglow's user avatar
4 votes
3 answers
369 views

Prisoner of war exchange against their will

In some conflicts exchanges of prisoners of war happen during the conflict, and this acts as an additional incentive for taking prisoners instead of killing enemy troops. However, in certain cases ...
Peteris's user avatar
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5 votes
3 answers
608 views

Do the republics of Donetsk and Luhansk consider themselves bound by the Geneva Conventions?

Have the authorities of the Russia-recognized republics of Donetsk and Luhansk commented on whether they consider themselves bound by the Geneva Conventions? They didn't sign any of those. Do they (...
got trolled too much this week's user avatar
18 votes
2 answers
4k views

Does the Geneva Convention with respect to prisoners of war apply to mercenaries?

There are people of different nationalities fighting as part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the current ongoing conflict. If they are captured, would the Geneva Convention's principles on giving ...
Schwarz Kugelblitz's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
405 views

What are the safeguards, set by the US military, to reduce the risk of committing war crimes?

I am talking here about war crimes committed by individuals or units (i.e., not representing a deliberate government/military policy), such as, e.g., the My Lai Massacre during the Vietnam war. One ...
Morisco's user avatar
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25 votes
4 answers
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Can a jet fighter "wave a white flag"?

If a group of soldiers is outpowered in combat, they can wave a white flag to signal that they surrender, and by this attempt to save their lives. It is an agreed symbol that, as far as I know, is ...
Erel Segal-Halevi's user avatar

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