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67-651: Since the beginning of the Emergency, the British Government recognized the Min Yuen to be especially problematic to their counter-insurgency operations. As the Min Yuen was made up of ordinary civilians, its members were indistinguishable from the rest of the population, making it impossible for security forces to instantly recognize and arrest them. Hence, the British government found it imperative to isolate

134-479: A conflict between territorial government forces and NSAs or NSAs themselves, but also a foreign military intervention against a NSA only if the territorial state consents to such intervention in its territory. Should the intervening country do so without the consent of the territorial state or in support of a NSA against that state, then Common Article 2 applies. For example, the American-led intervention in

201-567: A fighting function and fights on the State's behalf, a relationship of belonging for the purposes of Article 4A(2) exists." For example, the Viet Cong was under effective control and direction by North Vietnam during the Vietnam War , therefore Common Article 2 solely applied to the conflict. The term protecting power has a specific meaning under these Conventions. A protecting power

268-484: A military command structure. The other Geneva Conventions are not applicable in this situation but only the provisions contained within Article 3, and additionally within the language of Protocol II . The rationale for the limitation is to avoid conflict with the rights of Sovereign States that were not part of the treaties. When the provisions of this article apply, it states that: Persons taking no active part in

335-668: A much needed update to the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 . In light of these developments, two Protocols were adopted in 1977 that extended the terms of the 1949 Conventions with additional protections. In 2005, a third brief Protocol was added establishing an additional protective sign for medical services, the Red Crystal , as an alternative to the ubiquitous Red Cross and Red Crescent emblems, for those countries that find them objectionable. The Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949. Commentary ( The Commentaries )

402-416: A trial unless the allegation of a war crime has been made. According to article 43 of the 1949 Conventions, soldiers are employed for the purpose of serving in war; engaging in armed conflict is legitimate, and does not constitute a grave breach. Should a soldier be arrested by belligerent forces, they are to be considered "lawful combatants" and afforded the protectorate status of a prisoner of war (POW) until

469-681: Is a series of four volumes of books published between 1952 and 1958 and containing commentaries to each of the four Geneva Conventions. The series was edited by Jean Pictet who was the vice-president of the International Committee of the Red Cross . The Commentaries are often relied upon to provide authoritative interpretation of the articles. The Geneva Conventions are rules that apply only in times of armed conflict and seek to protect people who are not or are no longer taking part in hostilities. The first convention dealt with

536-455: Is a state that is not taking part in the armed conflict, but that has agreed to look after the interests of a state that is a party to the conflict. The protecting power is a mediator enabling the flow of communication between the parties to the conflict. The protecting power also monitors the implementation of these Conventions, such as by visiting the zone of conflict and prisoners of war. The protecting power must act as an advocate for prisoners,

603-605: Is the romanization of the two-character abbreviated form of the Chinese term Minzhong Yuendong (Chinese: 民眾運動 ; pinyin: Mínzhòng Yùndòng ; lit. 'people's movement'). In May 1948, at a security conference in Kuala Lumpur, Lieutenant Colonel John Dalley estimated that there were 5,000 members of the MNLA who had already taken up arms against the British colonial occupation of Malaya and 250,000 members of

670-783: The Algerian War and the Troubles . On February 7, 2002, President Bush adopted the view that Common Article 3 did not protect al Qaeda prisoners because the United States-al Qaeda conflict was "not of an international character." The Supreme Court of the United States invalidated the Bush Administration view of Common Article 3, in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld , by ruling that Common Article Three of

737-798: The Geneva Conventions which forbids civilian deportations and internment of civilian populations beyond actual civilian security and military necessity in non-international conflicts. British authority in Malaya's rural areas had been only tenuously re-established after the surrender of the Empire of Japan at the end of the Second World War . The British regarded a group of about 500,000 " squatters ", largely of Chinese descent , who practised small-scale agriculture , generally lacked legal title to their land, and were largely outside

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804-637: The Malayan Emergency (1948–1960). The plan aimed to defeat the Malayan National Liberation Army by cutting them off from their sources of support amongst the rural population. To achieve this a large programme of forced resettlement of Malayan peasantry was undertaken, under which about 500,000 people (roughly 10% of Malaya 's population) were forcibly transferred from their land and moved to concentration camps euphemistically referred to as " new villages ". During

871-645: The Min Yuen . Many rural workers were sympathetic to communism for the role of the MCP in leading the anti-Japanese resistance movement during World War II. Other factors which led to support for the communists included the desire for Malayan independence from Britain, the communist victory in China, the communist role in leading the Malayan trade union movement and postwar economic inequality and poverty. By isolating

938-707: The Soviet–Afghan War was an IAC because the Soviet Union invaded the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA) to remove Afghan communist leader Hafizullah Amin from power, then installed puppet leader Babrak Karmal , who "invited" Soviet troops to intervene against the Afghan mujahideen fighters. While non-state armed groups are automatically presumed to engage in NIACs, they also can cross into

1005-775: The Syrian civil war . The lines between combatants and civilians have blurred when the actors are not exclusively High Contracting Parties (HCP). Since the fall of the Soviet Union , an HCP often is faced with a non-state actor, as argued by General Wesley Clark in 2007. Examples of such conflict include the Sri Lankan Civil War , the Sudanese Civil War , and the Colombian Armed Conflict , as well as most military engagements of

1072-459: The biological and chemical warfare in international armed conflicts is addressed by the 1925 Geneva Protocol . The Swiss businessman Henry Dunant went to visit wounded soldiers after the Battle of Solferino in 1859. He was shocked by the lack of facilities, personnel, and medical aid available to help these soldiers. As a result, he published his book, A Memory of Solferino , in 1862, on

1139-474: The hostilities , including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds , detention , or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria. To this end, the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to

1206-404: The 1949 conventions. Those not listed as protected persons in such conflicts are instead protected by international human rights law and general treaties concerning the legal status of aliens in belligerent nations. In international law and diplomacy the term convention refers to an international agreement, or treaty. With two Geneva Conventions revised and adopted and two added in 1949,

1273-597: The Briggs Plan would now bring together rural Chinese from all over the country and concentrate them in the New Villages. There was significant resentment towards the programme both among the Chinese and Malays. The Malaysian Chinese were sometimes targeted for collective punishment , preventive detention and summary deportation , which were aimed at weeding out communist supporters, and the Malays were incensed at

1340-710: The Briggs Plan, the Special Branch was tasked with penetrating the Min Yuen and destroying the MCP from within. While the Special Branch did not manage to penetrate the upper ranks of the MNLA and MCP leadership hierarchy, they were successful in inserting undercover agents into the Min Yuen. In some scenarios, once the Special Branch had gathered sufficient information on known Min Yuen members, they would threaten to arrest and punish them under Emergency Regulations unless they agreed to cooperate. In other situations,

1407-518: The Emergency, there were over 400 of these settlements. Furthermore, 10,000 Malaysian Chinese suspected of being communist sympathisers were deported to the People's Republic of China in 1949. The Orang Asli were also targeted for forced relocation by the Briggs Plan because the British believed that they were supporting the communists. Many of the practices necessary for the Briggs Plan are now prohibited under Article 17 of Additional Protocol II to

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1474-656: The Geneva Conventions applies to detainees in the "War on Terror", and that the Guantanamo military commission process used to try these suspects was in violation of U.S. and international law. In response to Hamdan , Congress passed the Military Commissions Act of 2006 , which President Bush signed into law on October 17, 2006. Like the Military Commissions Act of 2006 , its successor the Military Commissions Act of 2009 explicitly forbids

1541-460: The Geneva Conventions apply to all the cases of international armed conflict (IAC), where at least one of the warring nations has ratified the Conventions. Primarily: Article 1 of Protocol I further clarifies that armed conflict against colonial domination and foreign occupation also qualifies as an international conflict. When the criteria of international armed conflict have been met,

1608-652: The Geneva Conventions in the Russo-Ukrainian War (2014–present) has been troublesome because some of the personnel who engaged in combat against the Ukrainians were not identified by insignia, although they did wear military-style fatigues. The types of comportment qualified as acts of perfidy under jus in bello doctrine are listed in Articles 37 through 39 of the Geneva Convention;

1675-909: The ICTY ruled that grave breaches apply not only to international conflicts, but also to internal armed conflict. Further, those provisions are considered customary international law . Controversy has arisen over the US designation of irregular opponents as "unlawful enemy combatants " (see also unlawful combatant ), especially in the Supreme Court of the United States judgments over the Guantanamo Bay detention camp brig facility Hamdi v. Rumsfeld , Hamdan v. Rumsfeld and Rasul v. Bush , and later Boumediene v. Bush . President George W. Bush , aided by Attorneys-General John Ashcroft and Alberto Gonzales and General Keith B. Alexander , claimed

1742-619: The Min Yuen and other CPM-affiliated organizations. In the early years of the Emergency from 1948 to 1951, the MNLA frequently attracted recruits from the Min Yuen to join their guerilla army. Many opposed colonial British rule and were inspired by the success of the Chinese Communist Party in defeating the Kuomintang in 1949 . During the peak of the Emergency from late 1951 to early 1952, there were roughly 50,000 members of

1809-511: The Min Yuen as far as possible from the communist guerrillas based in the jungle. This was achieved under the Briggs Plan when 400,000 civilians were forced into a network of internment camps called " new villages " which sought to separate the communist revolutionaries from their civilian supporters. The term Min Yuen began appearing following the declaration of the Emergency in June 1948. It

1876-554: The Min Yuen. However, with the mass internment of nearly 500,000 Chinese civilians into prison camps called " new villages " by 1952, the Min Yuen were greatly hampered in their ability to meet with communist guerrillas. The new villages were located away from the jungle, had perimeter fencing, and were guarded by Special Constables (and later the Home Guard). This made it difficult for communist sympathizers to freely meet and supply communist guerrillas with food and information. Under

1943-435: The Special Branch would plant misinformation in the Min Yuen knowing that it would be passed on to communist guerrillas as genuine, thereby destroying the credibility of the Min Yuen as a reliable source of intelligence. Briggs Plan The Briggs Plan ( Malay : Rancangan Briggs ) was a military plan devised by British General Sir Harold Briggs shortly after his appointment in 1950 as Director of Operations during

2010-686: The Syrian civil war became both an IAC with Syria and a NIAC with the Islamic State because the U.S. intervened in Syrian territory without the former's consent. On the other hand, Russia intervened in Syrian territory against the Free Syrian Army upon invitation by Syria, making Russia's participation subject only to Common Article 3 and therefore Protocol II (which Russia ratified on September 29, 1989). The U.S.-led NATO invasion of Afghanistan from October 7 to December 17, 2001

2077-508: The US since 2000. Some scholars hold that Common Article 3 deals with these situations, supplemented by Protocol II (1977). These set out minimum legal standards that must be followed for internal conflicts. International tribunals, particularly the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), have clarified international law in this area. In the 1999 Prosecutor v. Dusko Tadic judgement,

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2144-716: The United States, Brazil, and Mexico, to attend an official diplomatic conference. Sixteen countries sent a total of twenty-six delegates to Geneva. On 22 August 1864, the conference adopted the first Geneva Convention "for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field". Representatives of 12 states and kingdoms signed the convention: For both of these accomplishments, Henry Dunant became co recipient of

2211-615: The above-mentioned persons: During the negotiation of the Geneva Conventions, France and Britain were initially staunchly opposed to Common Article 3. However, to save face during negotiations and make strategic concessions, France and Britain deliberately introduced ambiguous language in the text of Common Article 3 that made it easy for states to avoid the obligations of the rule. As a consequence, Common Article 3 only concerns with humane treatment and does not deal with methods and means of hostilities, such as bombings committed by non-state armed groups or state forces against civilian targets in

2278-404: The aftermath of the Second World War (1939–1945), which updated the terms of the two 1929 treaties and added two new conventions. The Geneva Conventions extensively define the basic rights of wartime prisoners , civilians and military personnel ; establish protections for the wounded and sick; and provide protections for the civilians in and around a war-zone. The Geneva Conventions define

2345-532: The beginning of the Cold War era, leading many to believe that the 1949 Geneva Conventions were addressing a largely extinct reality: on the one hand, most armed conflicts had become internal, or civil wars, while on the other, most wars had become increasingly asymmetric . Modern armed conflicts were inflicting an increasingly higher toll on civilians, which brought the need to provide civilian persons and objects with tangible protections in time of combat, bringing

2412-450: The cessation of the conflict. Human rights law applies to any incarcerated individual, including the right to a fair trial. Charges may only be brought against an enemy POW after a fair trial, but the initial crime being accused must be an explicit violation of the accords, more severe than simply fighting against the captor in battle. No trial will otherwise be afforded to a captured soldier, as deemed by human rights law. This element of

2479-416: The characteristics of war, whether carried out within the confines of one country or not. There are two criteria to distinguish non-international armed conflicts from lower forms of violence. The level of violence has to be of certain intensity, for example when the state cannot contain the situation with regular police forces. Also, involved non-state groups need to have a certain level of organization, like

2546-414: The convention has been confused during past incidents of detainment of US soldiers by North Vietnam, where the regime attempted to try all imprisoned soldiers in court for committing grave breaches, on the incorrect assumption that their sole existence as enemies of the state violated international law. Although warfare has changed dramatically since the Geneva Conventions of 1949, they are still considered

2613-718: The cornerstone of contemporary international humanitarian law . They protect combatants who find themselves hors de combat , and they protect civilians caught up in the zone of war. These treaties came into play for all recent non-international armed conflicts, including the War in Afghanistan , the Iraq War , the invasion of Chechnya (1994–2017) , and the Russo-Georgian War . The Geneva Conventions also protect those affected by non-international armed conflicts such as

2680-464: The creation, interpretation and application of the laws of armed conflict. The complexity of these new challenges, as well as the speed in which they are developed, complicates the application of the Conventions, which have not been updated in a long time. Adding to this challenge is the very slow speed of the procedure of developing new treaties to deal with new forms of warfare, and determining agreed-upon interpretations to existing ones, meaning that by

2747-512: The deficiencies in the protection of prisoners of war under the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 . The "Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War" was not to replace these earlier conventions signed at The Hague; rather it supplemented them. There was considerable debate over whether the Geneva Convention should prohibit indiscriminate forms of warfare, such as aerial bombings, nuclear bombings and starvation, but no agreement

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2814-579: The enforcement of grave breaches when the United Nations Security Council asserts its authority and jurisdiction from the UN Charter to apply universal jurisdiction. The UNSC did this when they established the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia to investigate and/or prosecute alleged violations. Soldiers, as prisoners of war, will not receive

2881-604: The first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901. On 20 October 1868 the first unsuccessful attempt to expand the 1864 treaty was undertaken. With the 'Additional Articles relating to the Condition of the Wounded in War' an attempt was initiated to clarify some rules of the 1864 convention and to extend them to maritime warfare. The Articles were signed but were only ratified by the Netherlands and the United States of America. The Netherlands later withdrew their ratification. The protection of

2948-507: The first time, the 1864 convention. It remained in force until 1970 when Costa Rica acceded to the 1949 Geneva Conventions. The 1929 conference yielded two conventions that were signed on 27 July 1929. One, the " Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armies in the Field ", was the third version to replace the original convention of 1864. The other was adopted after experiences in World War I had shown

3015-433: The following: Nations that are party to these treaties must enact and enforce legislation penalizing any of these crimes. Nations are also obligated to search for persons alleged to commit these crimes, or persons having ordered them to be committed , and to bring them to trial regardless of their nationality and regardless of the place where the crimes took place. The principle of universal jurisdiction also applies to

3082-513: The full protections of the Conventions are considered to apply. This article states that the certain minimum rules of war apply to armed conflicts "not of an international character." The International Committee of the Red Cross has explained that this language describes non-international armed conflict (NIAC) "where at least one Party is not a State." For example, it would apply to conflicts between state forces and non-state actors (NSAs), or between two NSAs, or to other conflicts that have all

3149-497: The guerrillas from sneaking in and extracting help by persuasion or intimidation. The process created 450 new settlements, and an estimated 470,509 people, 400,000 of them ethnically Chinese, were involved in the program. The Malaysian Chinese Association , then known as the Malayan Chinese Association, played a crucial role in implementing the programme. The British also tried to win the support of some of

3216-406: The homogenous nature of New Villages, with the few multiracial ones eventually failing or turning into ghettoes , worked against that goal, but accentuated communalist fervour and causing ethnic polarisation , especially in politics, as electoral constituencies would now be delineated more along racial lines. Previously, the Chinese rural workers and peasants had been spread out geographically, but

3283-564: The horrors of war. His wartime experiences inspired Dunant to propose: The former proposal led to the establishment of the Red Cross in Geneva . The latter led to the 1864 Geneva Convention , the first codified international treaty that covered the sick and wounded soldiers on the battlefield. On 22 August 1864, the Swiss government invited the governments of all European countries, as well as

3350-443: The infrastructure provided for the New Villages since their own settlements had remained undeveloped. One example collective punishment came from Tanjung Malim , where the British put the civilian population on rice rations to stop them from supporting the communist guerrillas. When that did not work, Gerald Templer halved the rice rations for civilians within the area and imposed a 22-hour curfew. A similar “ Four Cuts ” strategy

3417-409: The invocation of the Geneva Conventions "as a basis for a private right of action." "... Common Article 3 continues the conventional practice (reflected in both the 'Lieber' and 'The Hague' provisions) of according humanitarian protections only to 'belligerents' who defer to the laws and customs of war : not to 'insurrectionists' who defy these norms from the very outset of hostilities. Observance of

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3484-402: The population into the " new villages ", the British stemmed the critical flow of food, information and recruits from the peasants to the guerillas. The new settlements were guarded around the clock by police, and many were partially fortified with barbed wire and sentry towers. That prevented those who were so inclined from sneaking out and voluntarily aiding the guerrillas, and it also prevented

3551-571: The power, as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, to determine that any person, including an American citizen, who is suspected of being a member, agent, or associate of Al Qaeda , the Taliban , or possibly any other terrorist organization, is an "enemy combatant" who can be detained in U.S. military custody until hostilities end, pursuant to the international law of war. The application of

3618-647: The prohibition of fake insignia is listed at Article 39.2, but the law is silent on the complete absence of insignia. The status of POWs captured in this circumstance remains a question. Educational institutions and organizations including Harvard University , the International Committee of the Red Cross , and the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute use the Geneva Convention as a primary text investigating torture and warfare. Artificial intelligence and autonomous weapon systems, such as military robots and cyber-weapons, are creating challenges in

3685-480: The reach of the colonial administration, as particularly problematic. Many of the Chinese people had been forced to live in isolated communities to avoid being slaughtered by the occupying Japanese. Several Malayan communities formed the backbone of the Malayan Communist Party (MCP); its armed wing, the Malayan National Liberation Army (MNLA); and its civilian supplies and intelligence network,

3752-524: The rights and protections afforded to those non-combatants who fulfill the criteria of being protected persons . The treaties of 1949 were ratified, in their entirety or with reservations , by 196 countries . The Geneva Conventions concern only protected non-combatants in war. The use of wartime conventional weapons is addressed by the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 and the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons , while

3819-414: The rules of warfare is what elevates an 'insurrectionist' to the legally cognizable status of 'belligerent' under the 'International law of war'; nothing short of such an 'observance' suffices to effect this transformation from the infra legal to legal ." Whether the conflict is an IAC or a NIAC or both depends on the nature and circumstances of the situation. Since there is a general prohibition against

3886-564: The settled civilians by providing them with education and health services. Some New Villages were equipped with amenities, such as electricity and piped water, and had a perimeter surrounded with fencing and armed guards to keep the civilians from escaping, many of whom had been in the MCP or had been forced to provide assistance. It was hoped that by providing the communities, which were mainly ethnic Chinese, with such facilities, they would be converted from "reservoirs of resentment into bastions of loyal Malayan citizenry". However, critics argue that

3953-531: The threshold of an IAC. The 2020 ICRC commentary on the Third Geneva Convention requires two elements for this classification: "the group must in fact fight on behalf of that Party" and "that Party must accept both the fighting role of the group and the fact that the fighting is done on its behalf." It further states that "[w]here a Party to a conflict has overall control over the militia , volunteer corps or organized resistance movement that has

4020-473: The treatment of wounded and sick armed forces in the field. The second convention dealt with the sick, wounded, and shipwrecked members of armed forces at sea. The third convention dealt with the treatment of prisoners of war during times of conflict. The fourth convention dealt with the treatment of civilians and their protection during wartime. Individuals who fulfill the criteria of protected persons in international armed conflicts are protected by

4087-534: The use of force between States (as is reflected within article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter ) with respect to Common Article 2, it is generally presumed that any use of such military force which is governed by international humanitarian law (IHL) is attributable to deliberate belligerent intent. Regarding Common Article 3, the ICRC in its 2016 commentary stated the provision includes not just

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4154-409: The victims of maritime warfare would later be realized by the third Hague Convention of 1899 and the tenth Hague Convention of 1907 . In 1906 thirty-five states attended a conference convened by the Swiss government. On 6 July 1906 it resulted in the adoption of the "Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armies in the Field", which improved and supplemented, for

4221-586: The whole is referred to as the "Geneva Conventions of 1949" or simply the "Geneva Conventions". Usually only the Geneva Conventions of 1949 are referred to as First, Second, Third or Fourth Geneva Conventions. The treaties of 1949 were ratified, in whole or with reservations , by 196 countries . The 1949 conventions have been modified with three amendment protocols : The Geneva Conventions apply at times of war and armed conflict to governments who have ratified its terms. The details of applicability are spelled out in Common Articles 2 and 3. This article states that

4288-412: The wounded, and civilians. Not all violations of the treaty are treated equally. The most serious crimes are termed grave breaches and provide a legal definition of a war crime . Grave breaches of the Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions include the following acts if committed against a person specifically protected by the conventions: Also considered grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention are

4355-466: Was initially an IAC because it waged war against the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan under Taliban rule. Once the new Karzai administration was established and recognized internationally, the conflict changed from an IAC to a NIAC, with NATO troops under International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Resolute Support Mission (RSM) auspices assisting the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan with its consent in battling Taliban insurgents. In contrast,

4422-510: Was reached on those forms of violence. Inspired by the wave of humanitarian and pacifistic enthusiasm following World War II and the outrage towards the war crimes disclosed by the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials , a series of conferences were held in 1949 reaffirming, expanding and updating the prior Geneva and Hague Conventions. It yielded four distinct conventions: Despite the length of these documents, they were found over time to be incomplete. The nature of armed conflicts had changed with

4489-435: Was used against villages and insurgents of the Burmese Communist Party in the Pegu Range . Geneva Conventions The Geneva Conventions are international humanitarian laws consisting of four treaties and three additional protocols that establish international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war . The singular term Geneva Convention colloquially denotes the agreements of 1949, negotiated in

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