Defending the defenceless
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: January 11, 2014 -

Its a fact that in any armed conflict situations, it is the civilian populations who are always at the receiving end of the both the parties in conflict and, thus, suffered the most.

And, our tiny land-locked strife-torn State of Manipur has been no exception to this endless circle of violence and suffering with its people caught in a prolonged armed conflict between the Government security forces and numerous armed groups fighting for self-determination.

Taking into account of suffering of the civilians in armed conflict situations around the globe, various instruments of international laws have proposed a composite legal framework for the protection of civilian populations, as a result of which protection of civilian populations, more particularly the vulnerable groups like women, children and internally displaced persons, during armed conflict has been made the cornerstone of international humanitarian laws today.

Of these, the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and the two Additional Protocols of 1977 have laid down basic rules for conduct during hostilities, giving greater emphasis on the need for making a fundamental distinction between civilians and combatants.

In other words, International Humanisation laws offer protection to those who are not or are no longer participating in hostilities.

The fundamental principles of human rights and most of the rules of international humanitarian law that protect civilians and govern the conduct of hostilities are also now part of international customary law.

In such a backdrop, the appeal that has come from the side of some civil society organisations to both the Government of India and the political armed groups operating in Manipur to respect and implement the common article of the Geneva Conventions, 1949 and the Additional Protocol-II of 1977 is very apt.

The appeal has been issued as part of 7-point recommendations adopted during a discussion session on the topic of "United Nations' Law of Armed Conflict and Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958" facilitated jointly North East Dialogue Forum (NEDF), People's Action for Development NH-53 (PAD-53), Senapati district, Puangringlong Village Authority, Women Society, Youth Club and Farmers' Club at Puangringlong (Charoi Pangdongba) village in Senapati district on Thursday.

Whether the two parties in conflict would ever pay any serious attention to such an appeal is another thing, but the growing realisation among the civil societies of the State to the need for defending the defenceless is something we can't help but be appreciative.

Even though the prime responsibility for ensuring protection of civilian population in an armed conflict situation lies with the State authorities, which are obliged to put a tab on the activities of its security forces in an armed conflict situation like Manipur where draconian law like Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act which grant extraordinary power to uniformed armed personnel is in force, the other parties to the armed conflict, particularly the armed UG groups, are also equally responsible for taking up measures to ensure that the civilians are adequately protected.

And when we say protection, it is not just abstinence from direct physical attacks on the civilians, as in the case of bomb blasts and attacks in public places, but also ensuring that the defenceless civilians could continue to live with dignity with no fear and intimidation from any quarters. Period.