As Russia and Ukraine trade blame for prisoner-of-war deaths, what becomes of the Geneva Convention?

Fri, 26 Aug 2022 01:25:35 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://theconversation.com/as-russia-and-ukraine-trade-blame-for-prisoner-of-war-deaths-what-becomes-of-the-geneva-convention-187987>

"The deaths of more than 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war last week is not only an
apparent war crime, but also another sign the situation is becoming a race to
the bottom when it comes to international law and conventions.

Ukraine and Russia have blamed each other for the attack on the prison in
Russian-occupied Donetsk. Ukraine also claims prisoners were being tortured and
murdered there. Russia’s British embassy later posted on Twitter that Ukrainian
Azov battalion soldiers deserved a “humiliating death” by hanging.

But amid the accusations and counter-accusations of atrocities being committed
against prisoners of war, some simple facts are easily overlooked: rules
already exist to prevent such horrors, and they apply in Ukraine.

Prisoners of war are explicitly covered by the Third Geneva Convention, drawn
up in 1949 to replace the old Prisoners of War Convention of 1929 after the
awful lessons of the second world war.

Both Russia and Ukraine are signatories, meaning they have promised to respect
it in all circumstances. It’s important to note this is not the protocol of the
Geneva Conventions Russian President Vladimir Putin recently quit."

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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