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Prisoners of War: Submitted By: Ghazaal Khan
Prisoners of War: Submitted By: Ghazaal Khan
Submitted by:
Ghazaal Khan
INTRODUCTION
Combatants are those who take direct part in hostilities and may be attacked, at that
moment such persons are entitled to protection. The protection is provided under the
common Article 3 of the first and the third Geneva Convention.
These conventions are binding as treaty law but the main provisions are customary in
nature. There was no mention of humanitarian
treatment of prisoners until the 19th century.
The Hague convention before the Geneva
convention did not provide sufficient protection to the
prisoners during the World War 1.
The Third Geneva Convention of 1949 is concerned with prisoners of war, and consists of a
comprehensive code centered upon the requirement of humane treatment in all circumstances. The
definition of prisoners of war in GC III, Article 4(A) is of particular importance since it has been
regarded as the elaboration of combatant status.
ARTICLE 4:
HISTORY
During the Spanish American War, the U.S. fleet attacking Santiago secured Guantánamo's harbor for protection during the
hurricane season of 1898. The Marines landed at Guantanamo Bay with naval support, and American and Cuban forces routed
the defending Spanish troops. The war ended with the Treaty of Paris of 1898, in which Spain formally relinquished control of
Cuba. Although the war was over, the United States maintained a strong military presence on the island.
The United States assumed territorial control over the southern portion of Guantánamo Bay under the 1903 Lease agreement
.The United States exercises jurisdiction and control over
this territory, while recognizing that Cuba retains ultimate sovereignty.
The current government of Cuba regards the U.S. presence in
Guantánamo Bay as "illegal" and insists the Cuban–American Treaty
"was obtained by threat of force and is in violation of international law." Some legal
scholars judge that the lease may be voidable.
WHO ARE IN THE DETENTION CELLS?
Since January 2002, 779 men have been brought to Guantanamo. Nearly 200 were released by mid-2004, before there had been any
CSRTs (Combatant Status Review Tribunal) to review whether individuals were rightfully held as enemy combatants.
Although the Bush administration said most of the men had been captured fighting in Afghanistan, a 2006 report prepared by the
Center for Policy and Research at Seton Hall University Law School reviewed data for the remaining 517 men in 2005 and
"established that over 80% of the prisoners were captured not by Americans on the battlefield but by Pakistanis and Afghans, often in
exchange for bounty payments."
The U.S. widely distributed leaflets in the region and offered $5,000 per prisoner. One example is
Adel Noori, a Chinese Muslim protester who had been sold to the US by Pakistani bounty
hunters.
An estimated 17 to 22 minors under the age of 18 were detained at Guantánamo Bay, and it
has been claimed that this is in violation of international law.
In September 2006, President Bush announced that 14 "high-value detainees" were to be
transferred to military custody of the Guantánamo Bay detention camp from civilian
custody by the CIA. He admitted that these suspects had been held in CIA secret prisons
overseas, known as black sites. These people include Al-Qaeda leader and those who were
believed to be a link between Osama bin Laden and many Al-Qaeda cell. There are currently
107 detainees held in the US detention center in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Of them, 47 have been cleared for transfer, yet still remain
behind bars
HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
In 2012, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment identified the violations he
suspected were ongoing at Guantánamo Bay. The UN Special Rapporteur further noted that the UN Convention Against
Torture defines torture as a crime committed by state officials, and intent is an important prerequisite of torture. The UN
Special Rapporteur stated that the level of pain that must be inflicted to
constitute torture is “not as high as President Bush and his advisors
describe, it is not excruciating pain similar to organ failure or death.
It is somewhere in between.”
Japanese lost in WW2 hence, the French tried to gain control over the area again but Vietnam
declared independence.
USA was afraid of the spread of communism so it kept on aiding the rebellious groups (south
Vietnam)
USA got the excuse it needed to escalate the war hence came
it’s entry into Vietnam war.
US POW in Vietnam war
More than 80%of the prisoners held in Vietnam were US military persons.
Vietnam had, from the very beginning, treated the POW as war criminals who had committed acts of aggression into their state.
Despite of them being signatory party to the third Geneva convention (which demanded decent and humane treatment of the
prisoners of war) , they still kept treating the POW inhumanly and justified it by labeling them as criminals of war.
In 1969, US administration publically highlighted the issue and started implementing Geneva convention itself, to gain political
advantage over Vietnam and to pressurize it as well, as a result of which Vietnam released a few of its prisoner as a gesture of
negotiation.
Even during those negotiations, vietnam did not change their stance of referring to the POW as war criminals, however they did treat
agreed on treating them as per some of the guidelines of the the geneva convention.
Treatment of the prisoners
Public parade
Waterboarding
Strappado
Beatings
Pleading of both parties in implementation of the Geneva
convention
USA’s pleadings:
Viet cong( rebellious groups of vietnam) were agents of the government of north vietnam
Vietnam's pleading;
Internal conflict
America carried on with its assertions that Geneva convention would be applicable, whereas North Vietnam kept on denying it
which led to a stagnancy
CONCLUSION
Once captured by the enemy, prisoners of war are subject to the laws of the armed
force that is holding them. They must act according to the rules and regulations of
their captors, and breaking those rules leaves them open to the same trial and
punishment as that faced by a member of the detaining military. They are under the
control of the detaining power and their detention is legal; as such, their escape is a
breach of that law.