Do wars even have laws? Are there rules, or is it a free for all, Kill ‘em all and let God sort ‘em out?
The answer is, yes, wars are supposed to be fought under the Law of War. Various versions of such laws go at least all the way back to Deuteronomy in the Bible, which was written around the seventh century BCE, 2,700 years ago.
The modern version of rules governing ethical conduct of war go back to the American Civil war and the Lieber code, issued as General Orders No. 100, from Abraham Lincoln’s Adjutant General's Office, on April 24, 1863. In 1864, Henri Dunant, founder of the Red Cross helped draft the first Geneva Conventions, an international treaty that required armies to care for the sick and wounded on the battlefield. It was adopted by 12 European countries. The current version of the Geneva Conventions was updated in 1949, following the second World War, after the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime came to light. 196 nations are currently signatory to the Geneva Conventions, in whole or in part. (Before we pat ourselves on the back, the US is actually signatory to fewer protocols of the Geneva Conventions than Russia is. In both cases, the respective governments are dodging the protocols concerning responsibility towards “collateral damage,” or harm to non-combatants.)
In a nutshell, the Rules of Ethical Warfare, also known as International Humanitarian Law in Regard to the Conduct of War can be summarized as:
- Protect those who are not fighting, such as civilians, medical personnel or aid workers.
- Protect those who are no longer able to fight, like an injured soldier or a prisoner.
- Prohibit targeting civilians. Doing so is a war crime.
- Recognize the right of civilians to be protected from the dangers of war and receive the help they need. Every possible care must be taken to avoid harming them or their houses, or destroying their means of survival, such as water sources, crops, livestock, etc.
- Mandate that the sick and wounded have a right to be cared for, regardless of whose side they are on.
- Specify that medical workers, medical vehicles and hospitals dedicated to humanitarian work can not be attacked.
- Prohibit torture and degrading treatment of prisoners.
- Specify that detainees must receive food and water and be allowed to communicate with their loved ones.
- Limit the weapons and tactics that can be used in war, to avoid unnecessary suffering.
- Explicitly forbid rape or other forms of sexual violence.
It doesn’t take much to see that Russia is in gross violation of nearly every basic rule of warfare.
The American principles of ethical warfare have been re-examined and re-codified several times, most recently in 2015 as the US DoD’s Law of War Manual. Other nations have their own versions. Every US soldier, sailor, airman, and Marine goes through substantial Law of War Training in which they are throughly educated on the rules governing ethical conduct of war. One of the take-aways from this training is, “The Soldier’s Rules,” which remind military personnel of their obligations under international law and the Uniform Code of Military Justice:
- Soldiers fight only Military combatants.
- Soldiers do not harm opponents who surrender. They disarm them and turn them over to proper authority.
- Soldiers do not kill or torture personnel in their custody.
- Soldiers collect and care for the wounded, whether friend or foe.
- Soldiers do not attack medical personnel, facilities, or equipment.
- Soldiers destroy no more than the mission requires.
- Soldiers treat civilians humanely.
- Soldiers do not steal. Soldiers respect private property and possessions.
- Soldiers do their best to prevent violations of the Laws of War.
- Soldiers report violations of the Laws of War to proper authority.
People have understood for thousands of years that war cannot and must not be a free for all. That sane and decent people do not fight like monsters. That nations have a moral obligation to restrict themselves only to moral and ethical conduct in the act of war. We have also declared that people and nations that violate the basic tenets of ethical warfare must be punished severely for their actions by the other states around the world.