instructions of killing : do it with care!!

Amused at the title? I bet!!

But if one studies the subject Humanitarian Law, then one would not be as amused. Example : Me.

Humanitarian Law goes as far back to our good friend, Henry Dunant. Who's he? Dude, you definitely need to know a little more about a peace society, because this guy is the guy who propagated such a concept.

Dunant loved peace so much that he even promoted it in times of war! :D So one day he went to this place in the middle of a raging war. As what I have no idea, nor do I have the abilities to rationalize why one would deliberately go to a battle field if one was not a soldier. Someone with a deathwish maybe.. :p

Anyhoo, Dunant went and witnessed the Battle of Solferino. This epic epic battle happened at around 1860s, a time when you and me wasn't even a drop of sperm yet ^^ So in this battle, Dunant saw the major heinousness that one man could inflict to another man, and that it was unbearable that he ran from the battle to look for his mommy, his bottle of milk, and his snuggly teddy bear..

Alrite that's a lie, but he did survive the battle enough to change the world for years to come..

Dunant decided that wars should change.. Even at that time he knew that wars were inevitable (not like those tree huggin hippies who promoted peace in the 60s and 70s. Read : John Lennon) , but he did see a chance that wars could be more human. So this was the birth of the Geneva agreements (NOT the Geneva Conventions, which was in 1945, this happened in 1880s). At the time he thought :

1) That human rights and humanity should be preserved in any condition but especially for countries waging war
2) There should be an organization that aims to induce these principles

Ladies and gentlemen, members of the house (loh!!??) this is how the Red Cross was established. What?? Yes! Dunant is that guy who founded the Red Cross.. Now does this ring bells for you?

Preceding the Geneva agreement in 1880s, the world adopted one of the first treaties that mattered; The Hague Conventions.. Enacted approximately in the 1890s, The Hague Conventions pretty much covered the idealism that Dunant brought to the world; that we would HUMANIZE wars.. Imagine that!

But you know what, as much as it looks nice on paper, that Hague (not Hag) conventions had its weaknesses. It got trumped by the SI OMNES PRINCIPLE.. What is this principle, I hear you ask.. It basically means that this convention only applies to the countries who ratified it! Right, I don't mean to be rude, but if at that time the US decided to (for God knows whatever reason) occupy Indonesia, all we can do is fart, take a shit, and die! There would be no sanctions.. Why? Becaue Indonesia did not ratify the convention.. I mean how could we, we weren't even independent by then! :p

Which is why the world made up another nice agreement; ladies and gents I present to you the Geneva Conventions! Adopted in 1945, The Geneva Conventions have 4 conventions under it (protection to civillians, protection to wounded, protection to shipwrecked, and protection to prisoners of war), then came along with 3-4 additional protocols within the next 20 years or so.

Great thing about Geneva Convention is that it became customary law! Come again? It means that it doesnt care whether you ratified or not, this convention UNIVERSALLY applies..

So this is the development of what is called HUMANITARIAN LAW.. Which is why be careful when someone talks about HUMANITARIAN AID, with HUMANITARIAN INTERVENTION, that, my friends, is 2 different things!!!!

But as we all know, as much as it looks nice, its called International Law.. Austin the great legal figure argued that its not really a law.. He means -> NO ENFORCEMENT.. we've seen cases where the Geneva Conventions was violated over and over again.. Who's to sanction? Are you really suggesting countries like Fiji would ever stand a chance in suing the UK for their aid in the Iraqi War? I dont think so..

So, a pea's a pea but a bean is a relief, eh?