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Pillage for personal gain is not allowed -

Pillage during times of war is nothing new, but we’re not in Viking times anymore. Rule 52 of the International Humanitarian Law (IHL) is unequivocal: pillage is prohibited.

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Pillage for personal gain is not allowed -

There is a caveat, however. While taking a souvenir home is a no-no, if supplies are taken out of military necessity, it doesn’t constitute personal gain. Rule 49 of the IHL says that “the parties to the conflict may seize military equipment belonging to an adverse party as war booty.”

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No surprise attacks after ceasefire -

Rule 64 of the IHL states that “concluding an agreement to suspend combat with the intention of attacking by surprise the enemy relying on that agreement is prohibited.”

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No surprise attacks in civilian areas -

Additionally, there must be advanced warning of attacks that may impact civilians. Rule 20 states that “each party to the conflict must give effective advance warning of attacks which may affect the civilian population, unless circumstances do not permit.”

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Only military targets can be attacked -

Troops must only attack military targets. Under Rule 16 of the IHL, troops “must do everything feasible to verify that targets are military objectives.”

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Removal of civilians is a priority -

Soldiers must make sure civilians are safe before launching an attack. “Each party to the conflict must, to the extent feasible, remove civilian persons and objects under its control from the vicinity of military objectives,” reads rule 24 of the IHL.

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No attacks on hospitals, safety zones, or neutralized zones -

Rule 35 of the IHL is very clear when it comes to attacking places such as hospitals. It reads: “directing an attack against a zone established to shelter the wounded, the sick and civilians from the effects of hostilities is prohibited.”

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No attacks against medical and religious personnel -

Rule 30 of the IHL is also clear when it states that “attacks directed against medical and religious personnel and objects displaying the distinctive emblems of the Geneva Conventions in conformity with international law are prohibited.”

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Journalists should be kept safe… -

…unless they are actively involved in the war. Rule 34 says that “civilian journalists engaged in professional missions in areas of armed conflict must be respected and protected as long as they are not taking a direct part in hostilities.

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Farmland cannot be destroyed -

Destroying the enemy's farmland is actually a war crime. Destroying crops, livestock, water supplies, and anything else that can affect the survival of civilians, is off-limits during wartime.

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Farmland cannot be destroyed -

Rule 54 of the IHL is clear about this: “Attacking, destroying, removing or rendering useless objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population is prohibited.”

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Soldiers must respect the natural environment -

According to rule 45 of the IHL, methods or means of warfare that “cause widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment are prohibited.” The rule also states that “destruction of the natural environment may not be used as a weapon.”

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Starvation as a method of warfare is not allowed -

The survival of the civilian population is really important, and starving people is not allowed. In addition to the aforementioned rule 54, there is also rule 53, which says that “the use of starvation as a weapon is forbidden.”

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Soldiers can’t wear blue helmets -

United Nations (UN) Peacekeepers famously wear blue helmets. Soldiers are not allowed to pose as UN Peacemakers. This is actually a war crime known as perfidy.

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Symbols of humanitarian networks can’t be used at all -

Wearing blue helmets to gain an advantage and deceive the enemy by pretending to act in good faith is considered perfidy. The same goes for placing symbols of the Red Cross or Red Crescent on military vehicles. Rule 65 of the IHL says that “killing, injuring or capturing an adversary by resort to perfidy is prohibited.”

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No improper use of the white flag -

Rule 58 of the IHL is that “the improper use of the white flag of truce is prohibited.“ Under the Statute of the International Criminal Court, this is considered a war crime “in international armed conflicts when it results in death or serious personal injury.”

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Disguised soldiers won’t get prisoner-of-war status -

“Combatants must distinguish themselves from the civilian population while they are engaged in an attack or in a military operation preparatory to an attack. If they fail to do so, they do not have the right to prisoner-of-war status,” reads rule 106 of the IHL.

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Some threats are off limits -

Granting quarter, or sparing the life of an enemy in one's power, is a basic rule. “Ordering that no quarter will be given, threatening an adversary therewith or conducting hostilities on this basis is prohibited,” says rule 46 of the IHL.

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Some threats are off limits -

Soldiers must give quarter to enemies who have stopped fighting, regardless of the reason. To kill an enemy or threaten to kill an enemy, in such circumstances, is not allowed.

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Some insults are off limits -

A prisoner of war has the right to food, shelter, and humane treatment. Threatening language, including insults, is considered inhumane and should not be used.

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No anti-personnel landmines -

Soldiers should discriminate between enemy troops and civilians, and any weapon used that doesn’t discriminate between the two cannot be used. Rule 71 of the IHL says that “the use of weapons which are by nature indiscriminate is prohibited.”

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Indiscriminate weapons can’t be used -

Other examples of weapons which are by nature indiscriminate include “chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons; mines, poison, explosives discharged from balloons, V-1 and V-2 rockets, cluster bombs, Scud missiles, Katyusha rockets, incendiary weapons, and environmental modification techniques.”

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No ambush traps -

Bait-style traps are also indiscriminate weapons, but the IHL has a separate rule for them because they can be so harmful to civilians. Rule 80 dictates that items or persons entitled to special protection (such as food, or civilians), or are likely to attract civilians, cannot be used to set up an attack. 

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Soldiers can’t cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering -

Rule 70 of the IHL states that “the use of means and methods of warfare which are of a nature to cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering is prohibited.”

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Soldiers can’t cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering -

Examples include “lances or spears with a barbed head, serrated-edged bayonets, expanding and explosive bullets, weapons that primarily injure by fragments not detectable by X-ray, including projectiles filled with broken glass, incendiary weapons, and blinding laser weapons,” to name a few.

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Soldiers should always be where they're supposed to be, and on time -

Timekeeping is really important in the military. In the US, the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) addresses this in Article 86. “Absence without leave occurs under Article 86 of the UCMJ when a service member fails to appear before his/her unit, organization, or place of duty at a prescribed time as ordered by the proper authority.”

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Playing sick is not acceptable -

Malingering is not acceptable. UCMJ Article 83 states that “any person subject to this chapter who, with the intent to avoid work, duty, or service feigns illness, physical disablement, mental lapse, or mental derangement; or intentionally inflicts self-injury; shall be punished as a court-martial may direct. Rules on military malingering are in force in several countries, not just the US.

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No dueling -

Duels were a common practice in the past, but they were made illegal in most countries. The rules also apply to the military. Article 114 of the UCMJ reads: “Any person subject to this chapter who fights or promotes, or is concerned in or connives at fighting a duel, or who, having knowledge of a challenge sent or about to be sent, fails to report the fact promptly to the proper authority, shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.”

Sources: (International Humanitarian Law Databases) (Uniform Code of Military Justice) (Grunge)

See also: What happened to these war criminals?

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