[Meneldil]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/st...921192,00.html

[Cubeoid]

Just another day in the life of, Hypocritica.. I mean America.

[Developer]

As far as I understand the issue, the prisoners in Cuba are not Americans and outside of American territory. Therefore legally they have no rights whatsoever.

[cre8tif]

We all seem to missing this one big distinction. They were not in uniform. Nor is there any evidence that they belonged to, or where conscipted into an army in any real sense that the Geneva Conventions could protect them. Religous convictions aside, you really should not leave your dog tags at home.

Basically.. if i remember correctly...if your not in uniform and can not prove you alliance via documentation. Your screwed because your
not a soldier in any legal sense.

--cre8tif

[Developer]

Originally posted by cre8tif:
Basically.. if i remember correctly...if your not in uniform and can not prove you alliance via documentation. Your screwed because your not a soldier in any legal sense.

Persons protected by the Convention are those who, at a given moment and in any manner whatsoever, find themselves, in case of a conflict or occupation, in the hands of a Party to the conflict or Occupying Power of which they are not nationals.

Anyway, it's not nice to screw people.

[cre8tif]

No, I agree with you it's not nice to screw people.

The Geneva Conventions and supplementary protocols make a distinction between combatants and civilians.

The two groups must be treated differently by the warring sides and, therefore, combatants must be clearly distinguishable from civilians.

Although this obligation benefits civilians by making it easier for the warring sides to avoid targeting non-combatants, soldiers also benefit because they become immune from prosecution for acts of war.

For example, a civilian who shoots a sholdier may be liable for murder while a soldier who shoots an enemy soldier and is captured may not be punished.

In order for the distinction between combatants and civilians to be clear, combatants must wear uniforms and carry their weapons openly during military operations and during preparation for them.

The exceptions are medical and religious personnel, who are considered non-combatants even though they may wear uniforms. Medical personnel may also carry small arms to use in self-defense if illegally attacked.

The other exception are mercenaries, who are specifically excluded from protections. Mercenaries are defined as soldiers who are not nationals of any of the parties to the conflict and are paid more than the local soldiers.

[bold]Combatants who deliberately violate the rules about maintaining a clear separation between combatant and noncombatant groups and thus endanger the civilian population are no longer protected by the Geneva Convention.[/bold]

Combatants who do fall within the guidelines of the Geneva Conventions enjoy the following protections:

? Prisoners of war must be treated humanely. Specifically, prisoners must not be subject to torture or to medical or scientific experiments of any kind. They must also be protected against violence, intimidation, insults and public curiosity. The public display of POWs is also prohibited.

? When questioned in the prisoner's native language prisoners of war must only give their names, ranks, birth dates and serial numbers. Prisoners who refuse to answer may not be threatened or mistreated.

? Prisoners of war must be immediately evacuated away from a combat zone and must not be unnecessarily exposed to danger. They may not be used as human shields.

? Finally, and most importantly, prisoners of war may not be punished for the acts they committed during the fighting unless the opposing side would have punished its own soldiers for those acts as well.[list]

[davesimondotcom]

The prisoners at Gitmo don't give a crap about the Geneva Conventions.

I think it's pretty good that we treat them "consistant" with the Geneva Conventions, even though if they had a chance they'd kill every man, woman, child in America.

We SHOULD treat them humanely, but humanely doesn't mean a king sized bed, lobster meals, a high end call girl and HBO.

[daimoni]

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