181-105-1001 (SL1) - Comply with the Law of War and the Geneva and Hague Conventions
Standards: The soldier identified, understood, and complied with the Law of War. Identified problems or situations that violate the policies and took appropriate action, including notifying appropriate authorities, so expedient action could be taken to correct the problem or situation.

1.   Define the Customary Law of War.

a. Describe the purpose and result of the Customary Law of War.

b. Describe the relationship between the Customary Law of War and the Hague Convention and Geneva Convention.

2.   Describe what the Hague and Geneva conventions basically represent.

3.   Describe the U.S. responsibility to comply with the Hague and Geneva conventions.

4.   Describe the Customary Law of War and Hague Convention's limitations on targets.

a. Describe the international law prohibition on targeting or attacking civilians.

b. Describe the Hague regulations prohibition on the destruction or seizure of enemy property unless imperatively demanded by military necessity.

c. Describe the Hague Regulation provisions regarding attacking a military target or a place occupied by a combatant force.

d. Describe the Hague Regulation prohibition against attacking an undefended town, village, dwellings, buildings, or other such place.

(1)  Define an undefended place within the meaning of the Hague Convention.

(2)  Describe the conditions that must exist for a place to be considered undefended.

(3)  Describe the effect of medical units, wounded and sick, and police forces within the undefended place on the character or status of the undefended place.

e. Describe the permissibility of attacking or bombarding defended places.

(1)  Define what constitutes a defended place.

(2)  Describe the status (defended or undefended) of a city or town surrounded by detached defense positions.

f.  Describe what constitutes a permissible military objective for attack, including bombardment.

g. Describe the relationship between military necessity versus unnecessary suffering or destruction.

h. Describe the protections afforded buildings dedicated to religion, art, science, or charitable purposes, or historic monuments during an attack or bombardment.

i.   Describe the effect on protected status afforded buildings dedicated to religion, art, science, or charitable purposes, or historic monuments if these buildings are being used for military purposes.

j.   Describe the protections afforded hospitals and other places where the sick and wounded are collected during an attack or bombardment.

(1)  Describe the effect on this protected status if enemy soldiers are the sick and wounded inside these hospitals or medical areas.

(2)  Describe the effect on this protected status if these hospitals or medical areas are being used for military purposes.

k. Describe what may constitute an illegal trick or method or treacherous act under the Law of War in regards to permissible targets.

l.   Describe why illegal tricks or methods or treacherous acts are prohibited.

m.   Describe the legality of incidental damage to surrounding buildings during an attack on a legitimate target.

5.   Describe the Customary Law of War and Hague Regulation prohibitions on the use of certain types of weapons.

a. Describe the Hague Regulation prohibitions against the employment of arms, material, or projectiles designed to cause unnecessary suffering.

b. Describe the possibility of a soldier violating the law of war by using an issued weapon in an illegal manner.

c. Describe the Hague Regulation prohibition on the use in war of poison or poisoned weapons against human beings.

d. Describe the 1925 Geneva Protocol prohibition regarding the use of asphyxiating, poisonous, or other gases, and the bacteriological methods of warfare in war.

e. Describe the 1925 Geneva Protocol ban on the use of chemical weapons in war.

(1)  Describe the U.S. prohibition on the first use of chemical weapons in war.

(2)  Describe the U.S. reservation to use chemical weapons against a state if that state fails to respect the Geneva Protocol ban on the use of chemical weapons.

(3)  Define a lethal agent and describe how this Geneva Protocol applies to a lethal agent.

(4)  Define what constitutes an incapacitating agent and describe how this Geneva Protocol applies to an incapacitating agent.

(5)  Describe the U.S. position that the Geneva Protocol does not prohibit the use of either chemical herbicides or riot control agents in war.

(a)   Describe the U.S. unilateral renouncement of first use of herbicides in war and exception to this policy.

(b)   Describe the U.S. policy regarding first use of riot-control agents in war.

(c)   Describe the requirement for presidential approval prior to use of herbicides or riot-control agents in armed conflict.

(6)  Describe the U.S. position regarding the initial or retaliatory use of bacteriological methods of warfare.

(7)  Describe the 1925 Geneva Protocol position regarding the use of smoke and incendiary materials in war.

(8)  Describe international law position regarding the use of nuclear weapons by air, sea, or land forces.

6.   Describe the rules of the Customary Law of War and Geneva Convention of 1949 governing the humane treatment of noncombatants.

a. Define who constitutes a noncombatant.

b. Define what constitutes humane treatment.

c. Describe what acts are strictly prohibited against noncombatants.

d. Describe what constitutes humane treatment of prisoners of war.

(1)  Describe how all captured persons are entitled to be treated as prisoners of war until their actual status is determined.

(2)  Describe the requirement to evacuate all captured or detained persons to a detainee collection point.

(3)  Describe what persons determine a captured or detained person status.

(4)  Describe the Geneva Convention relative to the treatment of prisoners of war prohibition on the use of physical force, mental torture, or coercion to obtain information.

(5)  Describe what information the 1949 Geneva Prisoner of War Convention requires a prisoner of war to provide his captor.

(6)  Describe what actions a captor or detaining power may take against a prisoner of war who refuses to answer questions, and give the practical reasons for this policy.

(7)  Describe the required treatment of prisoners of war in regards to—

(a)   Daily food and living quarters.

(b)   Medical care.

(c)   Personal hygiene.

(d)   Exercise or observance of religious faith.

(e)   Retention of personal property.

(f)    Receive and send mail.

(g)   Having a prisoner representative.

(h)   Maintaining a chain of command.

(i)    Requirement to work.

(8)  Describe a prisoner of war responsibility to obey lawful camp rules and disciplinary actions that may be taken against the prisoner of war for violation of these rules.

e. Describe what constitutes the humane treatment of the wounded and sick.

(1)  Describe the applicability of Article 14 of the Geneva Convention for the amelioration of the condition of the wounded and sick in the armed forces in the field, and what it provides regarding the prisoner of war status of wounded and sick of a belligerent who falls into enemy hands.

(2)  Describe what Article 12 of the Geneva Wounded and Sick Convention provides regarding protection and treatment of members of the armed forces who are wounded or sick.

(3)  Describe the requirement to leave medical personnel and material behind to care for wounded and sick.

(4)  Describe the protections afforded medical personnel.

(a)   Describe how these protections apply to military medics.

(b)   Describe how these protections apply to medical staff exclusively engaged in the administration of medical units and establishments.

(c)   Describe how these protections apply to chaplains attached to the armed forces.

(d)   Describe how these protections apply to staff of national Red Cross societies and other voluntary aid organizations.

(5)  Describe the status of captured full-time medical personnel as prisoners of war or retained personnel.

(a)   Describe the right of retained medical personnel to perform medical duties.

(b)   Describe the right and time limitation of the detaining power to retain full-time medical personnel under the Wounded and Sick Geneva Convention.

(c)   Describe the requirement and procedures the detaining power must follow to return retained medical personnel to their own side.

(d)   Describe the relationship of the Geneva Convention to prisoners of war and retained personnel.

(e)   Describe the requirement of retained personnel to follow the captor's internal disciplinary system of the camp at which they are detained.

(6)  Describe the status and protections afforded members of the armed forces specially trained for employment as hospital orderlies, nurses, or bearers of auxiliary stretchers.

(a)   Describe the individual status of prisoners of war versus retained personnel.

(b)   Describe the individual rights regarding return to their own side.

(c)   Describe the individual rights regarding work or duties while in the prisoner of war camp.

(7)  Describe the status and protections afforded members of recognized aid societies of neutral countries that lend assistance of their medical personnel and units to a party to the conflict.

(a)   Describe what consent, authorization, and control mechanism are required in order for these individuals to assist a party to the conflict.

(b)   Describe what notification requirements are necessary in order for these individuals to assist a party to the conflict.

(c)   Describe the captor's right to detain these individuals and the requirement to return them to their own side.

(d)   Describe what work these individuals may perform while detained.

(8)  Describe the protected status of medical property, material, and equipment under the Geneva Wounded and Sick Convention.

(a)   Describe the circumstances under which fixed medical establishments and mobile units of the medical service may be attacked.

(b)   Describe the duty to ensure medical establishments and units are not situated near military objectives.