By Delia Chatoor
Delia Chatoor, is our Pax Christi member in Trinidad and Tobago. She works with the International Red Cross & the Institute for International Criminal Investigations. In her latest blog, she explores the legal issues surrounding military attacks on urban areas. To open the text of the Solemn Appeal click the image below.
At its 2024 meeting held in Geneva in October, the Council of Delegates of the International Red Cross Red Crescent Movement, adopted a Solemn Appeal which would call upon States and the Red Cross Red Crescent Societies to make pledges “to prevent and respond to the humanitarian impacts of urban warfare” and to take “concrete actions to those ends.” (Res.CD/24/R8).
It is widely acknowledged that recent armed conflicts are more likely to be fought in urban centres where, it is estimated that 70 % of the global population will live by 2050. Already half of us live in towns and cities. As we have seen in recent months, our media increasingly transmit images of destruction not only of military targets but houses, monuments, critical infrastructure, medical facilities, businesses – and people.
Questions have, therefore, been asked: what has happened to the implementation of the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their two Additional Protocols of 1977? The front lines of certain conflicts are now within cities so that the lives of citizens can no longer be regarded as safe.
The Solemn Appeal is, therefore, not directed only to the States party to the Geneva Conventions but also to non-State armed groups. The range of weaponry employed has equally expanded and includes the use of drones, mortars, missiles of all types, IEDs, rocket launchers, various artillery devices and large bombs.
The scale of human suffering and destruction can never be rationalised. It is the civilian population who continue to bear the brunt of the suffering and in particular, women, girls and boys, elderly men, and those with disabilities.
We must remember that, according to Article 8 of the Statute of the International Criminal Court, it is a war crime to, inter alia, “Intentionally [direct] attacks against the civilian population as such or against individual civilians not taking direct part in hostilities.”
This extends to direct attacks against civilian objects, that is, objects which are not military objectives. Such actions when “committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack” may also constitute crimes against humanity (Article 7).
In addressing the 34th International Red Cross Red Crescent Conference in October, the Permanent Observer of the Holy See observed that civilians continued to be “victimised in armed conflicts by indiscriminate attacks in contravention of international law.” He reiterated the “deep concern “of the Holy See on the use of explosive weapons in densely populated areas, leading to displacement and extensive devastation. He noted that the aim of the implementation of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) should be the enhancement of “compassion, justice and dialogue” and should be the most appropriate means for constructive peace.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations continues to reinforce the reality that in addition to citizens, the humanitarian workers charged with the responsibility of caring for victims are themselves regularly faced by all manner of threats, ranging from political chicanery and “bureaucratic policies” to injury, kidnapping and death.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which has as its primary mandate the issue of protecting civilians, has reported that the number of non-international armed conflicts has increased substantially “from less than 30 to over 90, over the past two years.” Civilians are the ones who experience the most suffering.
There is physical destruction, and to this must be added the mental and psychosocial impact which cannot disappear overnight but can last from one generation to the next. We see this in the ongoing conflicts in Africa, Europe, the Middle East and elsewhere.
What can individuals do to raise the awareness and the necessity to do more to ensure the protection of civilians? We can begin by understanding the import of the Solemn Appeal. We can urge our leadership in the public and private sectors to adopt policies that would avoid the allocation of resources to companies which manufacture and export explosive weapons that daily have such terrible impacts in populated areas.
There must also be compliance of IHL along with effective accountability for violations through “prompt, independent and effective investigations and prosecutions.” Armed and security forces must be provided “with adequate training and operational guidance” through the appreciation and understanding of the tenets of IHL. Above all, they must grasp the importance of and relevance to ensure the protection of civilian populations when engaged in fighting in urban areas.
We can also delve deeply into the pronouncements reflected in #2314 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “Every act of war directed to the indiscriminate destruction of whole cities or vast areas with their inhabitants is a crime against God and man, which merits firm and unequivocal condemnation.” (Gaudium et spes 80 (3).