Document C
The Geneva Conventions on the Laws of War, 1949
Article 3: In the case of armed conflict not of an international character occurring in the territory of one of the High Contracting Parties, each Party to the conflict shall be bound to apply, as a minimum, the following provisions:
(1) Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, color, religion, or faith, sex, birth, or wealth, or any other similar criteria.
To this end, the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons:
(a) violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment, and torture; (b) taking of hostages; (c) outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment; (d) the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court, affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.
(2) The wounded and sick shall be collected and cared for....
Questions:
1. How do you think the American soldiers at My Lai felt about the Geneva Convention? Were they thinking about it at the time? How do you know? Why were the conventions disregarded?
2. What if the other side does not follow the rules of war? Should Americans be forced to abide by these rules? Is it fair? Why or why not?
3. Should women and children should be treated as enemy combatants if they are in possession of weapons?
4. What parts of the Geneva Convention did the U.S. Army disregard?
The Geneva Conventions on the Laws of War, 1949
Article 3: In the case of armed conflict not of an international character occurring in the territory of one of the High Contracting Parties, each Party to the conflict shall be bound to apply, as a minimum, the following provisions:
(1) Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, color, religion, or faith, sex, birth, or wealth, or any other similar criteria.
To this end, the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons:
(a) violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment, and torture; (b) taking of hostages; (c) outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment; (d) the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court, affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.
(2) The wounded and sick shall be collected and cared for....
Questions:
1. How do you think the American soldiers at My Lai felt about the Geneva Convention? Were they thinking about it at the time? How do you know? Why were the conventions disregarded?
2. What if the other side does not follow the rules of war? Should Americans be forced to abide by these rules? Is it fair? Why or why not?
3. Should women and children should be treated as enemy combatants if they are in possession of weapons?
4. What parts of the Geneva Convention did the U.S. Army disregard?