2010 - Obama & Bush - Geneva Conventions of 1949

ꕤ Article SOURCE http://foreignpolicy.com/2010/08/11/obama-bush-and-the-geneva-conventions/ http://foreignpolicy.com/2010/08/11/obama-bush-and-the-geneva-conventions/ SUMMARY - 2010 Article Geneva Conventions of 1949 -- international treaties -- x4 separate treaties -- first 3 agreements revised previous treaties -- ie.  dating from 1864, 1906 & 1929 -- humanitarian protections     - for sick or wounded soldiers on land     - sailors at sea     - prisoners of war -- 1949 - fourth agreement: protections for civilians in conflict zones Best known of agreements is:  Third Geneva Convention -- protections for those who qualify as Prisoners of War (POWs) -- USA long objected to certain provisions in First Protocol -- Second Protocol submitted to Senate 1987 -- *Senate DID NOT ACT ON IT -- Bush admin signed & ratified Third Protocol -- creating alternative protection symbol (Red Diamond) for countries -- primarily Israel, that do not use Red Cross or Red Crescent -- x4 1949 protocols = bedrock of international laws of war -- Geneva Conventions applied in:     - Korea     - Vietnam     - First Gulf Wars -- post 9-11, George W Bush admin decides Conventions do not apply to conflict with al Qaeda because al Qaeda not a party to the conventions -- determined that while Afghanistan was party to Conventions, Taliban were not entitled to POW protections -- Bush admin refusal to apply Geneva Conventions (& certain provisions of human rights treaties) condemned:  placing detainees into 'legal black hole'. -- 2006 Supreme Court - rejects Bush admin argument -- US Supreme Court held that EVEN IF Geneva Conventions did not apply in entirety:  COMMON ARTICLE 3 prohibits torture & inhuman or degrading treatment of detainees, including al-Qaeda detainees. -- Obama entered into pledge to restore US respect for international law. -- purportedly banned coercive interrogation methods (torture) -- rescinded Bush's interpretations of Common Article 3 -- 2009, Obama reaffirmed US commitment to "abide by the Geneva Conventions" in his Nobel Prize remarks -- but Obama admin had not as at 2010 applied Conventions as legal framework -- as at 2010 Obama admin held 100's of al-Qaeda & Taliban detainees -- as ENEMY COMBATANTS in Guantanamo & Afghanistan, but -- denied POW status per Third Convention -- denied civilian 'protected persons' status per Fourth Convention -- detainees denied minimum protections for detained persons -- per Article 75 of the First Protocol -- ie. to be told reasons for one's detention Article claims USA has been, for over 100 years, a respected leader in developing international laws of war & suggests USA should engage in dialogue to develop rules. http://foreignpolicy.com/2010/08/11/obama-bush-and-the-geneva-conventions/ ---------------------- ꕤ ---------------------- COMMENT Found this an interesting article. [no time to check for typos properly] ꕤ