A
prisoner of war
(short form:
POW
) is a non-combatant who has been captured or
surrendered
by the forces of the
enemy
, during an armed
conflict
. In past centuries, prisoners had no rights. They were usually killed or forced to be
slaves
.
[1]
Nowadays prisoners of war have
rights
that are stated in the
Geneva Conventions
and other
laws of war
.
The Third Geneva Convention gives prisoners of war many different rights. Here are some examples:
[2]
[3]
- They must be treated
decently
, with
respect
- They must be allowed to tell their families and the
International Committee of the Red Cross
that they are a POW
- They have the right to
communicate
with their families, and get packages
- They have the right to keep their
clothing
, eating
utensils
, and personal things
- They must be given
adequate
food, clothing,
housing
, and medical attention
- If their captors make them work, POWs must be paid for the work they do
- If they are going to be charged with a crime, they must be given a
trial
If they are very
sick
or
hurt
, prisoners of war have the right to be let go. After a war ends, all prisoners must be let go quickly.
[2]
Prisoners of war also have the right NOT to:
[2]
[3]
- Give their captors any information, except for their name, age,
rank
, and service number (a
military
identification number)
- Have their money or valuable things
stolen
- Do
forced labor
, military work, or work that is
dangerous
, unhealthy, or
degrading
Not every prisoner gets these rights
[
change
|
change source
]
Not all people who are caught while fighting wars are "prisoners of war." The
Third Geneva Convention
has a strict definition of what a prisoner of war is. For example, it says that to be "prisoners of war," soldiers must:
[2]
- Wear
uniforms
or marks on their clothes to make it clear they are soldiers
- Have some sign (like a flag) that shows they are soldiers from a distance
- Carry their weapons out in the open, where they can be seen
- Follow the
laws of war
According to the Geneva Conventions, if soldiers do not meet these requirements, they are not "prisoners of war." They are "
unlawful combatants
" (which means "people who fight in ways that are against the law). This means they do NOT have the rights that are listed in the Geneva Conventions.
[2]
This caused
controversy
in the early 21st century. For example, in June 2002, the United States was fighting the
War in Afghanistan
. The
Secretary of Defense
,
Donald Rumsfeld
, announced that the people the U.S. had captured were "unlawful combatants [who] do not have any rights under the Geneva Convention[s]."
[4]
The U.S. said these people were unlawful combatants, not prisoners of war, because:
[4]
- They did not wear clothing that made them look any different than regular
civilians
- They did not organize themselves into groups with a chain of command
- They did not follow the laws of war (because they gave support to
Al-Qaeda
, a
terrorist
organization)
The U.S. brought some of these people to
a prison in Guantanamo Bay
. Because they were enemy combatants, the inmates at Guantanamo did not get the rights that the Geneva Conventions give to prisoners of war.
[5]
War crimes against prisoners of war
[
change
|
change source
]
When a country, or a group of people, does not give prisoners of war their rights, they are committing a
war crime
. However,
punishing
those war crimes has not always been easy.
The Geneva Convention lists the rights that prisoners of war have. However, there is nothing in the Geneva Convention that says how people should be punished when they do not give prisoners of war these rights.
[2]
In the past, when a country broke the Geneva Convention by not giving prisoners of war their rights, many different things might happen. For example, after
World War II
ended, the
countries that won the war
set up military
tribunals
called the
Nuremberg Trials
and the
Tokyo Trials
. At these trials, military leaders from
Nazi Germany
and the
Empire of Japan
were tried for crimes against prisoners of war (and many other things). Many of them were
convicted
and
sentenced to death
or to life in
prison
.
[6]
However, at other times, crimes against prisoners of war might be tried in the same country where the crimes happened. This might happen before or after the war ended. Sometimes crimes against prisoners of war were not punished at all.
[2]
The International Criminal Court
[
change
|
change source
]
In 2002, the
International Criminal Court
(ICC) was created to look into
war crimes
around the world, and punish people for them, if possible.
[7]
The ICC has a long list of crimes that are
defined
as war crimes. Some war crimes against prisoners of war are:
[8]
If a country, or a group of people, commit a
war crime
against prisoners of war, the ICC can put them on trial and punish them if they are found guilty.
-
Celebration for
German
POWs who returned after
WWI
(the banner says "Home greets you!") (1920)
-
Mass grave
from the
Katyn massacres
of 1940, where the Soviet
Red Army
killed around 22, 000
[11]
-
Telegram
sent to the family of an American POW captured by
Nazi Germany
during
WWII
[a]
-
Soldiers carry bodies after the
Bataan Death March
(1942). About 20,000
Filipino
POWs and 1,600 Americans died
[12]
[13]
-
An Australian POW, Sgt Leonard Stiffleet, captured in
New Guinea
, about to be beheaded by a Japanese soldier with a gunt? sword, 1943
-
In 1944, 76
Allied
POWs escaped from
a Nazi POW camp
through a tunnel.
[14]
The Nazis re-captured 73 of them and
executed
50.
[15]
-
-
North Vietnam
releases some
Vietnam War
POWs (including
John McCain
) in 1973
-
Iranian
POWs, including
child soldiers
, captured during the
Iran-Iraq War
(1988)
-
Video of U.S.
Marines
and
Navy SEALs
rescuing American POW
Jessica Lynch
during the
War in Iraq
(2003)
- ↑
The telegram says: "Based on information received through the Provost Marshal General records of the War Department have been amended to show your son Private First Class Alton L Hoover a prisoner of war of the German government Any further information received will be furnished by the Provost Marshal General ULIO The Adjutant General 806A." (Telegrams were written without any
punctuation
.)
- ↑
Levie, Howard S. (1997). "Enforcing the Third Geneva Convention on the Humanitarian Treatment of Prisoners of War" (reprinted from
The United States Air Force Academy Journal of Legal Studies
,
(7)
37)". In Michael N. Schmitt, L.C. Green (ed.).
Levie on the Law of War: International Law Studies, Volume 70
. United States Naval War College. pp. 459?467.
ISBN
978-9997904010
.
- ↑
2.0
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
2.5
2.6
Diplomatic Conference for the Establishment of International Conventions for the Protections of Victims of War (August 12, 1949).
"Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War"
(PDF)
. Retrieved
March 5,
2016
.
- ↑
3.0
3.1
"Geneva Convention"
. Peace Pledge Union
. Retrieved
March 4,
2016
.
- ↑
4.0
4.1
Borelli, Silvia (2004).
Enforcing International Law Norms Against Terrorism (Studies in National Law, Volume IV)
. Hart Publishing. p.
42
.
ISBN
978-1841134307
.
- ↑
Chlopak E 2002.
"Dealing with the Detainees at Guantanamo Bay: Humanitarian and Human Rights Obligations under the Geneva Conventions"
.
Human Rights Brief
.
9
(3). American University Washington College of Law: 6?9, 13
. Retrieved
March 5,
2016
.
{{
cite journal
}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (
link
)
- ↑
Penrose, Mary Margaret.
"War Crime"
. Encyclopaedia Britannica
. Retrieved
March 4,
2016
.
- ↑
"About the Court"
.
International Criminal Court
. Archived from
the original
on April 4, 2016
. Retrieved
March 4,
2016
.
- ↑
International Criminal Court
(2011).
Elements of Crimes
(PDF)
. The Hague, Netherlands: PrintPartners Ipskamp. pp. 1?44.
ISBN
978-92-9227-232-6
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 2016-03-09
. Retrieved
2016-03-05
.
- ↑
Sale, Kirkpatrick (1992). "The Conquest of Paradise: Christopher Columbus and the Columbian Legacy." Papermac. p. 155.
ISBN
0-333-57479-6
- ↑
Lopez de Gemara, Francisco (1552).
Cortes: The Life of the Conqueror by His Secretary.
English translation by Lesley Byrd Simpson (1964). Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 207-08.
ISBN
978-0520004917
- ↑
"The Katyn Controversy: Stalin's Killing Field"
. Archived from
the original
on 2007-05-09.
- ↑
Olson, John E. (1985).
O'Donell: Andersonville of the Pacific
. John E. Olson.
ISBN
978-9996986208
.
- ↑
Office of the Provost Marshal General (November 19, 1945).
"Report on American Prisoners of War Interned by the Japanese in the Philippines"
. Office of the Provost Marshal General.
- ↑
"Great Escape"
.
Nova (PBS)
. Season 31. Episode 582. 2004-11-16.
- ↑
Andrews, Allen (1976).
Exemplary Justice
. Corgi Books. pp. 56?57.
ISBN
0-552-10800-6
.
- ↑
Appleman, Roy E. (1998).
South to the Naktong, North to the Yalu: United States Army in the Korean War
. Department of the Army. p. 349.
ISBN
978-0-16-001918-0
.