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Glossary Terms Used in EHL G Glossary Terms used in EHL G Exploring Humanitarian Law EHL EDUCATION MODULES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE International Committee of the Red Cross 19, avenue de la Paix 1202 Geneva, Switzerland T +41 22 734 60 01 F +41 22 733 20 57 E-mail: [email protected] www.ehl.icrc.org © ICRC, January 2009 G Exploring Humanitarian Law Glossary Exploring Humanitarian Law EHL Glossary 3 Glossary G anti-personnel landmine Most of the terms in the glossary retain their usual meaning. However, some terms have a particular A mine designed to be set off by the presence, meaning, depending on their specific usage ‘in the proximity or contact of a person and that is capable of EHL programme,’ ‘in IHL’ , ‘with respect to the work of incapacitating, injuring or killing one or more persons. the ICRC,’ or ‘in humanitarian work.’ (Mines designed to be detonated by the presence, proximity or contact of a vehicle instead of a person, and Terms used in definitions are bold if they appear as that are equipped with anti-handling devices, are not separate glossary entries. considered to be anti-personnel mines.) Additional Protocol I apartheid A treaty adopted in 1977 that supplements the An Afrikaans word that means ‘apartness’; it is the name protection provided by the four Geneva Conventions given to the system of racial discrimination which and is applicable in international armed conflicts. enabled a white minority in South Africa to rule over It imposes additional constraints on the way in which the non-white majority. military operations may be conducted and further strengthens the protection for civilians. armed conflict An armed conflict is said to exist when there is an Additional Protocol II armed confrontation between the armed forces of A treaty adopted in 1977 that supplements the States (international armed conflict) or between protection provided by the four Geneva Conventions governmental authorities and organized armed and is applicable in non-international armed conflicts groups or between such groups within a State (non- of higher intensity than the situations covered by Article international armed conflict). Other situations of 3 common to the four Geneva Conventions. Additional violence, such as internal disturbances and tensions Protocol II covers non-international armed conflicts are not considered to be armed conflicts. that take place on the territory of a State between the armed forces of that State and dissident armed forces or armed group organized armed groups that operate under responsible In the EHL programme, this term refers to a group of command and that control part of the State’s territory, people with an organized power structure who bear arms with the ability to conduct sustained and concerted and engage in hostilities as a non-State actor bound by military operations. IHL; dissident members of a State’s armed forces may also be considered to form an armed group. Additional Protocol III A treaty adopted in 2005 that supplements the Article 3 common to the four Geneva Conventions protection provided by the four Geneva Conventions (common Article 3) by establishing a new emblem: the red crystal. This A provision that appears in each of the four Geneva new emblem, like the red cross and the red crescent, Conventions, it applies to non-international armed is a symbol of the protection granted to the medical conflicts. A “Convention in miniature,” the Article and religious services of armed forces and to the contains a set of fundamental IHL rules that aim to components of the International Red Cross and Red protect persons who are not, or who are no longer, Crescent Movement. taking an active part in hostilities. It also includes an explicit reference to the right of an impartial humanitarian body, such as the ICRC, to offer its services to the parties to a conflict. The rules contained in common Article 3 are considered to be customary IHL and represent a minimum standard from which belligerents should never depart. Exploring Humanitarian Law EHL Glossary 4 Glossary G bystander (non-legal) code (non-legal) In the EHL programme, a bystander is a person who is In the EHL programme, this term refers to a set of aware of an incident, without being involved, where the written rules. lives or human dignity of others is in danger. collateral damage chain of consequences (non-legal) The incidental damage, loss or injury that is caused to A series of events; each event in the series causes, or civilians and civilian objects in the course of an attack affects, the next. against a legitimate military target despite the taking of all necessary precautions to prevent or to minimize child such damage, loss or injury. As defined in the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, a child is a person “below the age combatant of eighteen years unless, under the law applicable to the In the EHL programme, for the sake of simplicity, the child, majority is attained earlier.” term ‘combatant’ is used in the generic sense, and interchangeably with the terms ‘soldier’ and ‘fighter,’ child soldier to mean a member of armed forces or of an armed In the EHL programme, this term refers to a child who group under the orders of a party to the conflict. has been recruited or used by an armed force or armed In IHL, the term ‘combatant’ in international armed group in any capacity. This includes children who have conflicts refers to members of the armed forces of been used as fighters, cooks, porters, messengers, spies a party to the conflict (except medical and religious or for sexual purposes. It does not refer only to children personnel) who are entitled to take a direct part in who take a direct part in fighting. hostilities. Combatants are obliged to distinguish themselves from civilians and to respect IHL. If civilian combatants fall into the hands of their adversary, they Any person who is not a combatant. When civilians take a are considered to be prisoners of war. direct part in fighting, they lose their protection from attack. (When there is any doubt about a person’s status, he or she command responsibility shall be considered to be a civilian.) The principle of hierarchical accountability for cases involving the commission of war crimes whereby a civilian object person in a superior position can be held responsible Any object that is not a military objective. When a civilian not only for the crimes he or she ordered, but also for object is used in support of military action, it loses its failing to prevent or punish the actions, or the inaction, protection and becomes a legitimate military target. of his or her subordinates. (When there is any doubt about whether a civilian object is in fact being used in support of military action, it shall be common Article 3 considered to be a civilian object.) See ‘Article 3 common to the four Geneva Conventions.’ cluster munition (including ‘cluster bomb’) confidentiality (non-legal) A canister that is dropped from an aircraft or fired A standard working procedure of the ICRC, used in its from artillery, and which, at a pre-set altitude or after a relationships with both State and non-State actors. specific time delay, opens and ejects many dozens or The ICRC engages in bilateral confidential dialogue hundreds of submunitions (‘bomblets’) into the air; the to ensure its access to people affected by armed ‘bomblets’ are usually designed to explode when they conflicts or other situations of violence and its ability hit the ground. to undertake activities on their behalf. The ICRC may decide to speak out publicly against violations of IHL when confidential representations have failed to put an end to them, but only as a last resort. Exploring Humanitarian Law EHL Glossary 5 Glossary G consequence (non-legal) customary international humanitarian law A condition resulting from an action or from a (customary IHL) behaviour of a certain kind. General practice accepted as law; such practice can be found in formal statements by States and in official crime of aggression accounts of military operations but it is also reflected in In international law, ‘aggression’ is defined as the use military manuals, national legislation and case law. of force by one State against another in violation of the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations. displaced person States are currently working on criminalizing similar See ‘refugee’ and ‘internally displaced persons.’ acts committed by individuals and coming to an agreement on the definition of a ‘crime of aggression’ distinction in this respect. When an agreement is reached, the See ‘principle of distinction.’ International Criminal Court will have jurisdiction over this crime in addition to genocide, crimes against emergency (non-legal) humanity and war crimes. In humanitarian work, a situation in which it is necessary to meet the pressing needs of people who have been crimes against humanity put at risk either by a natural or technological disaster As defined in the Rome Statute of the International or by armed conflict. Criminal Court, the term refers to certain acts “committed as part of a widespread or systematic enforcement attack directed against any civilian population, with A variety of means to ensure that international legal norms knowledge of the attack.” The criminalized acts include are properly implemented at the national level. They murder, enslavement, deportation, imprisonment, commonly take the form of monitoring mechanisms and torture, various acts of grave sexual violence, coercive measures such as penal or disciplinary sanctions. persecution of any identifiable group or collection of individuals, enforced disappearance, and apartheid. ethical dilemma (non-legal) Crimes against humanity are considered to be crimes A situation in which the pursuit of one worthy goal under international law whether they take place in times conflicts with another or does harm as well as good.
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