[WW] Hague and Geneva Conventions

[deaconblue3@juno.com]

http://www.lib.byu.edu/~rdh/wwi/hague.html
http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/ainstls1.htm  (Scroll down to Laws
of Warfare)

The Hague Conventions do not specifically ban the use of Shotguns in
combat.  There is a clause (Under the Rules of Warfare on Land), that
prohibits "causing superfluous injury to an enemy."  This leads directly
to the specific banning of expnading bullets ("Dum-Dums"), as a further
clause.  In what is usually an anachronism in most WW2 movies/shows, is
that the Geneva accords don't come into force until 1950, and that it is
the Hague conventions (incoroprated into the Geneva accords) which
provide the "protections."  The additions of Geneva do ban things like
Shotguns, but is enforceable only to signatories (if you don't sign on,
you can't be prosecuted for breaking it).  The Hague conventions do
specifically ban the use of biological and chemical weapons, and we all
know everyone broke (and still breaks) that rule.  As a further note, the
USA is not a signatory to the Geneva Accords, and I'm not sure about the
Hague Conventions.  That said, the US does uphold many aspects of both
conventions (Treatment of POWs, Civilians, property, etc), while ignoring
others (Shotguns, landmines, weapon development).

Josh R

"No matter where you go, there you are."  B.Bonzai