International Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

International Law - Essay Example The threat does not come from a charging cavalry but from a small group of individuals, specifically armed civilians, clandestinely operating to undermine an entire country or its economy. There is no declaration of war. The enemy simply launches an attack from within where majority of the casualties are innocent civilians. This is the era of unconventional warfare. Unlike war and belligerency which are governed by specific set of rules under the United Nations conventions and treaties, there exist no specific rules in international law that apply to unconventional conflicts.1 Unlike terrorists, the community of nations adheres to laws that govern the conduct of war, including but not limited to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, the Hague Conventions, and the 1977 Protocols to the Geneva Conventions. These basic laws are then complemented and supplemented by the human rights conventions and treaties. The absence of specific rules that apply to unconventional conflicts like terrorism gi ve rise to the debate as to whether or not unconventional conflicts can be legally regulated without conferring legal rights to terrorists. I submit to resolve the issue at hand in the negative. No, unconventional conflicts cannot be legally regulated without conferring legal rights to terrorists. ... Rumsfeld. The court ruled that Hamdan is entitled to the rights set forth in the common Article 3 of the four Geneva Conventions.2 In particular, these conventions are: first, the Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field; second, the Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea; third, the Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War; and fourth, the Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War.3 While the first three conventions govern the conduct of war between armed combatants and all those directly involved in the armed conflict, the last convention provides regulations as to how these combatants should conduct themselves with regard to unarmed civilians.4 The Geneva Conventions specifically declared under Article 2 thereof that â€Å"the present Convention shall apply to all cases of declared war or of any other armed conflict which may arise between two or more of the High Contracting Parties, even if the state of war is not recognized by one of them. The Convention shall also apply to all cases of partial or total occupation of the territory of a High Contracting Party, even if the said occupation meets with no armed resistance.† Moreover it bears stressing that the conventions also provide in Article 3 thereof that, â€Å"Persons taking no active part in 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