Thursday, June 9, 2016
The crumbling Islamic State: Its desperate violations of humanitarian law
The danger from the disintegrating ISIS is that there are no longer the few restraints that existed among some of the ISIS leadership for the laws of war.
Times of Ahmad | News Watch | UK Desk
Source/Credit: Author
By Rene Wadlow | June 7, 2016
Not killing a prisoner is a core value of humanitarian law, and ISIS has deliberately violated this norm.
In simultaneous, if not necessary coordinated operations, there are attacks against the forces of the Islamic State (ISIS or Daech in its Arabic abbreviation) in Syria and Iraq. ISIS had, in practice, abolished the frontier between Iraq and Syria which had been created in 1916 by the agreement of Sir Mark Sykes for the UK and Francois Georges-Picot for France.
When the Allied forces landed in North Africa in 1942, Winston Churchill was asked if this was the beginning of the end of the Axis. He replied to the effect that it was perhaps not the beginning of the end, but it was certainly the end of the beginning of the Second World War. Current events, however, may be the beginning of the end of ISIS but not of its capacity for violence and continuing violations of humanitarian law.
The United Nations Secretariat has raised an alarm concerning the fate of some 400 Iraqi families held by the ISIS forces for possible use as “human shields” in the battle for the city of Fallujah, held by ISIS since January 2014. The use of civilians as “human shields” is a violation of the laws of war set out in the Geneva Conventions. ISIS leaders have been repeatedly warned by the International Committee of the Red Cross, who, by treaty, is responsible for the respect and application of the Geneva Conventions.
In addition to the some 400 families who have been rounded up and are being held as a group in the center of Fallujah, there are a large number of children − UNICEF estimates 20,000 − trapped in the city and who may be used in military ways, either to fight or as suicide bombers.
The danger from the disintegrating ISIS is that there are no longer the few restraints that existed among some of the ISIS leadership for the laws of war. As Iraqi troops have drawn closer to Fallujah , they have found mass graves with both soldiers and civilians killed. One of the fundamental aspects of the laws of war is the protection of prisoners of war. Once a person is no longer able to combat, he must be treated as a prisoner and no longer a combatant. Not killing a prisoner is a core value of humanitarian law, and ISIS has deliberately violated this norm.
The Association of World Citizens has stressed the need for accountability, including by investigating alleged violations of the laws of war. These grave violations by ISIS must be protested by as wide a coalition of concerned voices as possible. There is a real danger that, as the Islamic State disintegrates and no longer controls territory, it will increase terrorist actions. Only by a wide public outcry in defense of humanitarian law can this danger be reduced. The time for action is now.
-- The crumbling Islamic State: Its desperate violations of humanitarian law
This content-post is archived for backup and to keep archived records of any news Islam Ahmadiyya. The views expressed by the author and source of this news archive do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of Times of Ahmad. Times of Ahmad is not an organ of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, nor in any way associated with any of the community's official websites.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Top read stories during last 7 days
-
"Pakistanis celebrate end of Ramdhan by burning down Ahmadi houses, " said Imarn Jattala, chief editor of Ahmadiyya Times, in a s...
-
“We’ve had several campaigns for blood drives, one on 9/11 at Ground Zero. We’ve donated thousands of units of blood. We are doing humanita...
-
Currently there is one voter list that includes all religious groups including Muslims, Hindus, Christians, Zoroastrians, and Sikhs, whereas...
-
“She was a really chill woman, very modern, enthusiastic, and engaging. She pushed boundaries in a positive way. She knew how to make herse...
-
'It has become part of our children's education so we cannot t stop them from using it. We can only supervise and guide them on the...
Disclaimer!
THE TIMES OF AHMAD is NOT an organ of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, nor in any way associated with any of the community's official websites. Times of Ahmad is an independently run and privately managed news / contents archival website; and does not claim to speak for or represent the official views of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. The Times of Ahmad assumes full responsibility for the contents of its web pages. The views expressed by the authors and sources of the news archives do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Times of Ahmad. All rights associated with any contents archived / stored on this website remain the property of the original owners.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for your comments. Any comments irrelevant to the post's subject matter, containing abuses, and/or vulgar language will not be approved.