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1. Prisons of War (POW's):Â
POW status under the third Geneva Convention (GPW) offers the highest
level of protection, including the right to be tried by court martial
(or in a court of law if the individual can be tried that way). If
there is doubt concerning whether a detainee is entitled to POW status,
he must be treated as a POW until a tribunul decides the status of the
individual (GPW Article 5).
Article
13(GPW) states that "prisoners of war must at all times be protected,
particularly against acts of violence and intimidation and against
insults and public curiosity."
Article 14 states that prisoners of war "are entitled in all circumstances to respect for their person and their honor."
Article
17 states that "no physical or mental torture, nor any other form of
coercion, may be inflicted on prisoners of war to secure from them
information of any kind whatever. Prisoners who refuse to answer may
not be threatened, insulted, or exposed to any unpleasant or
disadvantageous treatment of any kind."Â Interrogators may ask
questions but detainees are only required to give their name and
limited identifying information. Interrogators are forbidden to offer
rewards in exchange for information.
2. Civilians Detainees: Civilians who occupy claimed territory are "protected persons" under
the fourth Geneva Convention ("GP") Â Persons with enemy nationality
who are not protected with POW status or any other of the Conventions
who are detained by a beliggerant on their own territory, or presumable
elsewhere, are still "protected persons", unless their nationality is
not a party to the Conventions. (As stated elsewhere in the report,
Iraq is party to the Convention, so the rules of international law do
apply to its citizens.)
3. Other Detainees: Some argue that illegal combatants are neither entitled to POW status
nor civilian rights under the Geneva Conventions. Others assert that
persons who commit hostile acts but are not entitled to POW status are
civilians. The Department of Defense maintains that the Geneva
Conventions have applied in Iraq since the onset of combat operations,
unlike Afghanistan, apparantly indicating that insurgents in Iraq are
treated as "protected persons" rather than unlawful combatants. Â
However, the administration had earlier determined that the Taliban
were covered by the Geneva Conventions but were not eligible for POW
status or protected persons because they failed to meet the status for
POW's under GPW Article 4. Some report that this inconsistency is at
least partially to blame for the harsh interrogation practices in
prisons in Iraq.
GC
Article 5 provides some exceptions for persons regarded as security
risks. This includes sabateurs, spys or persons under suspicion of
activities hostile to the occupying country. These people forfeit
their rights of communication but still must be treated with humanity.Â
In case of trial they shall not be deprived of their rights to a fair
and impartial hearing.
4. Responsibility of Breaches:Â
Treatment of Prisoners of War:Â
The proper treatment of prisoners is the responsiblity of the detaining
power and the individuals directly responsible for their conditions.Â
Mistreatment of prisoners of war may incur individual liability under
both international norms as well as the Uniform Code of Military
Justice (UCMI)and may amount to "grave breaches" under the Geneva
Conventions. Grave breaches under the GPW include "willful killing,
torture or inhuman treatment, including biological experiments,
willfully causing great suffering to body or health, unlawful
deportation or unlawful confinement of a protected person, compelling a
prisoner of war to serve in the military forces of the Opposing Power,
or wilfully depriving a prisoner of war to the rights to a fair and
regular trial prescribed in the Convention....(GC Article 147 and CPW
Article 130).
Tomorrow:Â United States Law Regarding Hostile Detainees.
https://www.usembassy.it/pdf/other/RL32395.pdf
