Unit VI the international humanitarian law

Task 1. Make sure you know the meaning of the words and their definitions below

legal corpus	collection or body of legal writings
mandatory	obligatory, compulsory
hostilities	fighting, warfare
prisoner of war	a person, esp. a serviceman, captured by an enemy in the time of war
captured	taken as a prisoner
put on trial	subjected to judicial examination by a competent tribunal
torture	cause extreme physical pain, esp. to extract information
warfare	conflict, struggle
inflict	cause to suffer
spare	refrain from killing, punishing, harming
surrender	give oneself up physically to an enemy
under the aegis	under the protection
undefended	unprotected, exposed
outset	beginning, start
urge	plead, press or move someone to do smth
launch attack	start attack
wage war	engage in war

Task 2. Read and translate the text

International humanitarian law (IHL), also known as the law of war, the laws and customs of war, or the law of armed conflict, is a legal corpus comprised of the Geneva Conventions, the Hague conventions, as well as subsequent treaties, case law and customary international law.

The International humanitarian law has a brief but eventful history. It was not until the second half of the nineteenth century that the nations agreed on international rules to avoid needless suffering in wars. The International humanitarian law is mandatory for nations bound by appropriate treaties.

This body of law can be defined as the principles and rules which limit the use of violence in times of armed conflict. The basic rules of the IHL are:

1. persons who are not, or are no longer, taking part in hostilities - the wounded, shipwrecked, prisoners of war and civilians - shall be respected, protected and treated humanely. They shall be given appropriate care without discrimination;

2. captured combatants and other persons whose freedom has been restricted shall be treated humanely. They shall be protected against all acts of violence, in particular against torture. If put on trial they shall enjoy the fundamental guarantees of a regular judicial procedure.

3. The right of parties to an armed conflict to choose methods or means of warfare is not unlimited and no unnecessary suffering shall be inflicted.

4. In order to spare the civilian population, armed forces shall at all times distinguish between the civilian population and civilian objects on the one hand, and military objectives on the other. Neither the civilian population as such nor individual civilians or civilian objects shall be the target of military attacks.

Well-known examples of such rules include the prohibition on attacking doctors or ambulances displaying a Red Cross. It is also prohibited to fire at a person or vehicle bearing a white flag, since that indicates intent to surrender or a desire to communicate. In either case, the persons protected by the Red Cross or white flag are expected to maintain neutrality, and may not engage in warlike acts.

There are three main currents that have contributed to the making of the international humanitarian law. They are:

1) the “law of Geneva”, represented by the International conventions and Protocols established under the aegis of the International Committee of the Red Cross with the protection of the victims of conflict as their central concern.

2) the “law of the Hague”, based on the results of the Peace Conferences in the capital of the Netherlands in 1899 and 1907, which dealt principally with the permissible means and methods of war. The Peace Conferences adopted conventions defining the laws and customs of warfare and declarations forbidding certain practices, including the bombardment of undefended towns, the use of poisonous gases and soft-nosed bullets. However, the conferences failed to agree on a system of compulsory arbitration as a means of settling disputes, which threaten peace.

3) the efforts of the United Nations to ensure that human rights are respected in armed conflicts and to limit the use of certain weapons. The maintenance of peace and the prevention of armed conflict are the vital concerns of the United Nations. Respect for human rights at all times and in all places is a fundamental principle of the United Nations Organization. From the outset, The United Nations bodies have cited the Geneva Conventions and Protocols, and have urged States to ratify or to be guided by them.

In 1968 the United Nations General Assembly affirmed a resolution of the Twelfth International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent which laid down three basic principles of actions in armed conflicts:

a) the right of parties to a conflict to adopt means of injuring the enemy is not unlimited,

b) it is prohibited to launch attacks on civilian populations as such,

c) a distinction must be made at all times between persons taking part in hostilities and members of the civilian population so that the latter are spared as much as possible.

With the adoption of this resolution the General Assembly declared as unacceptable the idea of waging war against the entire population in an attempt to force the adversary to give up.

In a little more than 100 years, an impressive body of international humanitarian treaty law has been established. The intention of the humanitarian law is to prevent armed conflicts, and to preserve humanity in the face of the reality of war.

Today there are clear limits to the types of actions that will be tolerated in armed conflicts.

However, treaties and conventions cannot save lives, prevent ill-treatment or protect the property of innocent people unless the will exists to apply these agreements in practice. Nor will they be effective unless everyone directly involved realizes that the basic issue is one of respecting fundamental human rights.

Task 2. Answer the following questions using the information of the text

1. How can the International humanitarian law be defined?

2. What was it comprised of?

3. What are the other names the IHL is known by?

4. Is the IHL optional or compulsory for the nations of the world?

5. What are the basic rules of the IHL?

6. What contributed to the making of the International humanitarian law?

7. What did the Peace Conferences at the Hague focus on?

8. What conventions and declarations did the Peace Conference adopt?

9. What are the vital concerns of the United Nations?

10. What did the resolution of the Twelfth International Conference of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent lay down?

11. What are three basic principles of action in armed conflicts?

12. What cannot treaties and conventions do?

13. How is it possible to make treaties and conventions effective?

Task 3. Fill in the blanks with the words from the box

case law hostilities mandatory humanely urged suffering victims captured outset to avoid warfare threaten weapons prohibited intent to surrender contributed to launch distinguish target under the aegis settling disputes inflicted maintenance to forbidding compulsory agreed on innocent people spare adversary ill-treatment affirmed waging war give up legal corpus attacks armed conflict laid down customary restricted subsequent customs of warfare

1. The International humanitarian law is a _______comprised of the Geneva Conventions, the Hague conventions, as well as _____ treaties, ____and ______international law.

2. It was not until the second half of the nineteenth century that the nations _____ international rules ______ needless ________ in wars.

3. The International humanitarian law is ______ for nations bound by appropriate treaties.

4. Persons who are not, or are no longer, taking part in _______shall be respected, protected and treated_______.

5. _______ combatants and other persons whose freedom has been ______ shall be treated humanely.

6. The right of parties to an ______ to choose methods or means of ______ is not unlimited and no unnecessary suffering shall be ________.

7. In order to _____ the civilian population, armed forces shall at all times ______between the civilian population and civilian objects on the one hand, and military objectives on the other.

8. Neither the civilian population as such nor individual civilians or civilian objects shall be the ______ of military attacks.

9. It is also ______ to fire at a person or vehicle bearing a white flag, since that indicates an _____or a desire to communicate.

10. There are three main currents that have ______ the making of the International humanitarian law.

11. The “law of Geneva”, represented by the International conventions and Protocols established ______ the International Committee of the Red Cross with the protection of the _______ of conflict as their central concern.

12. The efforts of the United Nations intended to ensure that human rights are respected in armed conflicts and to limit the use of certain _______.

13. The Peace Conferences at the Hague adopted conventions defining the laws and ______and declarations ______ certain practices.

14. However, the conferences failed to agree on a system of ______ arbitration as a means of _______, which ______ peace.

15. The ______ of peace and the prevention of armed conflict are the vital concerns of the United Nations.

16. From the ______, The United Nations bodies have cited the Geneva Conventions and Protocols, and have _______ States to ratify or to be guided by them.

17. The United Nations General Assembly ______ a resolution of the Twelfth International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent which ______ three basic principles of actions in armed conflicts.

18. It is prohibited _______ on civilian populations as such.

19. With the adoption of this resolution the General Assembly declared as unacceptable the idea of ______ against the entire population in an attempt to force the _____ to _____.

20. Treaties and conventions cannot save lives, prevent ______ or protect the property of ____.

Task 4. Mark the sentences as True or False

1. International humanitarian law (IHL) is also known as the law of war, the human rights law, the laws and customs of war, or the law of armed conflict.

2. It was not until the second half of the twentieth century that the nations agreed on international rules to avoid needless suffering in wars.

3. The International humanitarian law is optional for nations that have not bound themselves by appropriate treaties.

4. The IHL can be defined as the principles and rules which limit the use of violence in times of armed conflicts.

5. Persons who are not, or are no longer, taking part in hostilities shall be respected, protected and treated humanely.

6. There are three main currents that have contributed to the making of the International humanitarian law. They are: the law of Geneva, the law of Amsterdam and efforts of the United Nations Organization.

7. Respect for human rights at all times and in all places is a fundamental principle of the UN.

8. The intention of the international law is to prevent armed conflicts and to preserve humanity in the face of the reality of war.

Task 5. Translate the following:

A legal corpus, последующий, прецедентное право, customary international law, to agree on, избегать, to engage in, обязательный, needless suffering, hostilities, обращаться гуманно, captured, ограниченный, torture, военнопленный, a target, to contribute to, под эгидой, customs of warfare, tolerance, to settle a dispute, vital, сохранение мира, threaten peace, outset, to urge, подтверждать, to lay down, parties to a conflict, to launch attacks, щадить, to wage war, противник, to give up, ill-treatment, to be inflicted, различать, prohibit, an intent to surrender, запрещать, permissible means and methods of war, оружие, вносить вклад, гражданское население, captured combatant, to avoid.

Task 6. Match the words and word combinations with their Russian equivalents

case law	запрещать
hostilities	щадить
subsequent	стороны вооруженного конфликта
agree on	причинять (страдания , боль)
parties to an armed conflict	страдания
suffering	последующий
mandatory	обычаи ведения войны
wage war	терпимость
captured	вносить вклад в
avoid	военные действия
warfare	цель, мишень
inflict	намерение сдаться
spare	прецедентное право
target	приемы ведения войны
prohibit	избегать
an intent to surrender	соглашаться о
contribute to	пойманный, плененный
tolerance	вести войну
enshrine	обязательный
customs of warfare	содержать, закреплять в законе
under the aegis of	допустимые средства и методы ведения войны
victim	подвергнуть нападению
settle disputes	сохранение, поддержка
permissible means and methods of war	под эгидой
maintenance	разрешать споры
launch attacks	жертва

Task 7. Complete the sentences with the endings from the text

1. International humanitarian law (IHL), is a legal corpus comprised of …

2. The International humanitarian law is mandatory for ….

3. This body of law can be defined as …

4. Persons who are not, or are no longer, taking part in hostilities – the wounded, shipwrecked, prisoners of war and civilians - shall be …

5. Captured combatants and other persons whose freedom has been restricted shall be protected against all acts of violence, in particular …

6. If put on trial they shall enjoy the fundamental …

7. The right of parties to an armed conflict to choose methods or means of warfare is not …

8. In order to spare the civilian population, armed forces shall at all times distinguish between the civilian population and civilian objects on the one hand, and …

9. Neither the civilian population as such nor individual civilians or civilian objects shall be …

10. It is prohibited to fire at a person or vehicle bearing a white flag, since that indicates an …

11. There are three main currents that have contributed to the …

12. The “law of Geneva”, represented by the International conventions and Protocols established under the …

13. The Peace Conferences adopted conventions defining the laws and customs of warfare and declarations forbidding certain practices, including …

14. The maintenance of peace and the prevention of armed conflict are the …

15. Respect for human rights at all times and in all places is a fundamental …

16. In 1968 the United Nations General Assembly affirmed a resolution of the Twelfth International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent which …

17. The right of parties to a conflict to adopt means of …

18. It is prohibited to launch …

19. A distinction must be made at all times between persons taking part in hostilities and members of the civilian population so that the latter are …

20. The General Assembly declared as unacceptable the idea of waging war against the entire …

21. The intention of the humanitarian law is to prevent armed conflicts, and …

Task 8. Choose the correct variant

1. a) The International humanitarian law is compulsory for nations bound by appropriate treaties.

b) The International humanitarian law is mandatory for nations not bound by appropriate treaties.

2. a) It is prohibited to fire at a person or vehicle bearing a red flag, since that indicates an intent to surrender or a desire to communicate.

b) It is prohibited to fire at a person or vehicle bearing a white flag, since that indicates intent to surrender or a desire to communicate.

3. a) The maintenance of peace and the prevention of armed conflict are the vital concerns of the United Nations Organization.

b) The maintenance of peace and the prevention of armed conflict are the vital concerns of the Red Cross and Red Crescent organization.

4. a) The right of parties to a conflict to adopt means of injuring the enemy is not unrestricted.

b) The right of parties to a conflict to adopt means of injuring the enemy is not limited.

5. a) It is forbidden to launch attacks on civilian populations as such.

b) It is prohibited to launch attacks on combatants.

6. a) A distinction must be made at all times between persons taking part in hostilities and members of the civilian population so that the former are spared as much as possible.

b) A distinction must be made at all times between persons taking part in hostilities and members of the civilian population so that the latter are spared as much as possible.

7. a) However, treaties and conventions can save lives, but cannot prevent ill-treatment or protect the property of innocent people.

b) However, treaties and conventions cannot save lives, prevent ill-treatment or protect the property of innocent people.

Task 9. Match the words on the left with their synonyms on the right and make up sentences of your own using the words given below:

mandatory	with protection
restrict	give in
hostilities	objective
spare	civilian population
target	warfare
prohibit	limit
innocent people	treat humanly
surrender	forbid
under the aegis	enemy
adversary	compulsory

Task 10. Translate into English:

Международное гуманитарное право охватывает принципы и правила, регулирующие средства и методы ведения войны, а также гуманитарной защиты гражданского населения, больных и раненых военнослужащих, а также военнопленных. Основными инструментами являются Женевские конвенции по защите жертв войны 1949 года и два дополнительных протокола, заключенных в 1977 году под эгидой Международного комитета Красного Креста.

За последние несколько лет Организация Объединенных Наций взяла на себя ведущую роль в усилиях по развитию международного гуманитарного права. Возрастает участие Совета Безопасности в защите гражданского населения во время вооруженных конфликтов, в содействии соблюдению прав человека и защите детей на войне. Создание Международных уголовных трибуналов по бывшей Югославии и по Руанде, а также трибуналов в Тиморе-Лешти, Сьерра-Леоне и Камбодже не только содействовало привлечению к ответственности, но и укреплению и более широкому применению гуманитарного права. Разработка подготовительной комиссией Международного уголовного суда «элементов преступлений» в отношении геноцида, военных преступлений и преступлений против человечества служит еще одним заметным вкладом в интерпретацию международного гуманитарного права.

Task 11. Speak on:

1. History of International humanitarian law.

2. The basic rules of the IHL.

3. What the UN does for justice and International law.