by Ganesh Sahathevan
Sanctions in response to Hamas terror attacks not likely to very much
about the provision of resources to HAMAS by its passive supporters
in Australia
Practic
On 12 November 2023 Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong told ABC Insiders::
"Israel must comply and observe international humanitarian law. We know Hamas is a terrorist organisation. It has demonstrated it has no respect for international law, but Australia is a democracy and so, too, is Israel and the standards that we seek and accept are higher........"
However the Geneva Convention and other instruments of international law provide that hospitals "shall at all times be respected and protected by the Parties to the conflict".
HAMAS chose to use hospitals as military installations thus removing their protection, and certainly not respected them. In any case, it does look as if HAMAS has done anything but protect its hospitals. HAMAS is devoted to beating and destroying Israel and its army, and its passive supporters seem quite happy to promote that objective,
TOE BE READ WITH
Practic
e relating to Rule 28
Medical Units
I. Treaties
Hague Regulations (1899)
Article 27 of the 1899 Hague Regulations provides:
In sieges and bombardments all necessary steps should be taken to spare as far as possible … hospitals, and places where the sick and wounded are collected, provided they are not used at the same time for military purposes. The besieged should indicate these buildings or places by some particular and visible signs, which should previously be notified to the assailants.
Regulations concerning the Laws and Customs of War on Land, annexed to Convention (II) with Respect to the Laws and Customs of War on Land, The Hague, 29 July 1899, Article 27.
Hague Regulations (1907)
Article 27 of the 1907 Hague Regulations provides:
In sieges and bombardments all necessary steps must be taken to spare, as far as possible, … hospitals, and places where the sick and wounded are collected, provided they are not being used at the time for military purposes. It is the duty of the besieged to indicate the presence of such buildings or places by distinctive and visible signs, which shall be notified to the enemy beforehand.
Regulations concerning the Laws and Customs of War on Land, annexed to Convention (IV) respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land, The Hague, 18 October 1907, Article 27.
Hague Convention (IX)
Article 5 of the 1907 Hague Convention (IX) provides:
In bombardments by naval forces all the necessary measures must be taken by the commander to spare as far as possible … hospitals, and places where the sick or wounded are collected, on the understanding that they are not used at the same time for military purposes.
Hague Convention (IX) concerning Bombardment by Naval Forces in Time of War, The Hague, 18 October 1907, Article 5.
Geneva Convention I
The 1949 Geneva Convention I provides:
Article 19
Fixed establishments and mobile medical units of the Medical Service may in no circumstances be attacked, but shall at all times be respected and protected by the Parties to the conflict. Should they fall into the hands of the adverse Party, their personnel shall be free to pursue their duties, as long as the capturing Power has not itself ensured the necessary care of the wounded and sick found in such establishments and units.
The responsible authorities shall ensure that the said medical establishments and units are, as far as possible, situated in such a manner that attacks against military objectives cannot imperil their safety.
…
Article 21
The protection to which fixed establishments and mobile medical units of the Medical Service are entitled shall not cease unless they are used to commit, outside their humanitarian duties, acts harmful to the enemy. Protection may, however, cease only after a due warning has been given, naming, in all appropriate cases, a reasonable time limit and after such warning has remained unheeded.
Article 22
The following conditions shall not be considered as depriving a medical unit or establishment of the protection guaranteed by Article 19:
1. That the personnel of the unit or establishment are armed, and that they use the arms in their own defence, or in that of the wounded and sick in their charge.
2. That in the absence of armed orderlies, the unit or establishment is protected by a picket or by sentries or by an escort.
3. That small arms and ammunition taken from the wounded and sick and not yet handed to the proper service, are found in the unit or establishment.
4. That personnel and material of the veterinary service are found in the unit or establishment, without forming an integral part thereof.
5. That the humanitarian activities of medical units and establishments or of their personnel extend to the care of civilian wounded or sick.
Convention (I) for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field, Geneva, 12 August 1949, Articles 19, 21 and 22.
Geneva Convention IV
The 1949 Geneva Convention IV provides:
Article 18
Civilian hospitals organized to give care to the wounded and sick, the infirm and maternity cases, may in no circumstances be the object of attack but shall at all times be respected and protected by the Parties to the conflict.
…
In view of the dangers to which hospitals may be exposed by being close to military objectives, it is recommended that such hospitals be situated as far as possible from such objectives.
Article 19
The protection to which civilian hospitals are entitled shall not cease unless they are used to commit, outside their humanitarian duties, acts harmful to the enemy. Protection may, however, cease only after due warning has been given, naming, in all appropriate cases, a reasonable time limit and after such warning has remained unheeded.
The fact that sick or wounded members of the armed forces are nursed in these hospitals, or the presence of small arms and ammunition taken from such combatants and not yet been handed to the proper service, shall not be considered to be acts harmful to the enemy.
Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, Geneva, 12 August 1949, Articles 18 and 1
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