Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- 1 Human rights within the context of members of armed forces
- 2 The human rights of members of the armed forces
- 3 Human rights and the disciplinary process
- 4 Civilians before military courts
- 5 Human rights and international armed conflict
- 6 Human rights, non-international armed conflict and civil disorder
- 7 Human rights during multinational operations
- Index
1 - Human rights within the context of members of armed forces
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 January 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- 1 Human rights within the context of members of armed forces
- 2 The human rights of members of the armed forces
- 3 Human rights and the disciplinary process
- 4 Civilians before military courts
- 5 Human rights and international armed conflict
- 6 Human rights, non-international armed conflict and civil disorder
- 7 Human rights during multinational operations
- Index
Summary
One might be forgiven for thinking that the very nature of human rights is not a primary consideration for the armed forces of a State which has established them for at least one purpose, to fight a war on its behalf. The fighting of war necessarily involves loss of life, injury to individuals and the destruction of property. There is, it might be argued, little room to consider the human rights of those within the armed forces or those who come into contact with them during a war, whether of an international or of a non-international kind. To provide some amelioration of the condition of the victims of the war, to control the methods of war and to limit its consequences, particularly as they affect civilians or civilian objects, States have, over a period of time, agreed by treaty to a wide body of international humanitarian law.
International humanitarian law has been defined as
‘international rules, established by treaties or custom, which are specifically intended to solve humanitarian problems directly arising from international or non-international armed conflicts and which, for humanitarian reasons, limit the right of Parties to a conflict to use the methods and means of warfare of their choice or protect persons and property that are, or may be, affected by conflict.’
This international humanitarian law has been drawn up for application in time of war (or armed conflict as it is usually called in modern times).
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Impact of Human Rights Law on Armed Forces , pp. 1 - 29Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2005