Once upon a time in Europe it was customary tothe warring armies converged in the open field and dealt with questions about who was the leader, whose territory it was, and engaged in other political "showdowns." But even at that time many military commanders hired so-called routers, who robbed and killed the population without any rules, and the knights remained, as it were, with nothing. Therefore, the question arose of who exactly can fight during an armed conflict, how these people should be called. So the term "combatant" appeared. This word came to us from the French language, it began to denote a person who takes a direct part in any conflict with a weapon in hand.
Who are combatants?
Such people existed always, but a speciallegal status have acquired relatively recently. This happened at the beginning of the last century, in 1907, when the so-called Fourth Hague Convention was adopted. In this Dutch city, in which, according to tradition, many international issues are being resolved, a special conference was held.
As a result of rather long and sharpthe participants agreed on the criteria by which fighters of warring forces can be called in a special way. So, combatants in international law are people taking part in an armed conflict, but they are noticeably different from other groups that use force methods.
Specificity and differences
Of course, this type of combatants areofficial soldiers. But since military operations are conducted not only by regular armies, but sometimes by different militias, it was decided that they are combatants. To this end, volunteer units must meet certain criteria. First of all, they must have a boss who is responsible for their actions. They should have some distinctive signs or a form that will immediately show that they are fighters, not civilians. And these people must wear weapons openly. In addition, they must comply with humanitarian law in the conduct of military operations, as well as regular military.
What is relied on by combatants
By the way, in the number of such "recognized fighters" canthere are also civilians who took up arms because of the unexpected invasion of the enemy army, if the regular forces did not manage to defend this territory and left their units there. But they must meet all of the above criteria. True, citizens of those countries that became parties to the First Protocol to the Geneva Conventions of 1948 do not necessarily have a distinctive sign. Nevertheless, the remaining demands, including the open carrying of weapons, so that the opposite side knows who to shoot, remain. This means that the combatant is a person who voluntarily expose himself to the risk of being wounded and killed. In case of his capture by the enemies, he has the right to the status of a prisoner of war. And it should be treated accordingly.
If we are talking about military pilots, then they are not allowed to shoot, if they land on parachutes from a downed plane, and then they should be invited to surrender.
Privileged and unprivileged combatant
This difference between different types of fighters comes fromfrom the following: while fighting de facto, de jure certain groups of people may not meet the criteria of the Hague Convention. For example, if soldiers or militiamen shoot prisoners, they finish off the wounded or otherwise violate humanitarian law. In addition, spies, mercenaries, anyone who does not fall within the above categories, are unprivileged combatants. International law requires that, in case of doubt about which type of combatant the person belongs, it was initially held as a prisoner of war, and then his fate is decided by a special tribunal.
What can a combatant count on?
It depends on many factors.The Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions of 1977 grants the status of combatants to the combatants, even if their authority or superiors are not officially recognized as a warring party. The state or, at least, its command is responsible for the fighter himself. It gives him the right to kill and shoot to kill, but he has no right to order him to violate the laws of war and human rights.
Lately combatants are not calledonly participants of the international conflict, but also representatives of the belligerent and insurgent parties, if we are talking about the internal problems of one state. But in this case, they must all meet the legal criteria. As for unprivileged combatants, they are protected by the Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions. They should expect fair justice.
Who are the non-combatants
Contrary to popular belief, it is not onlycivilians and civilians. Combatants and non-combatants are, above all, the difference between people in the armed forces (not so important, regular or voluntary), but not directly fighting. These people can serve the army, be journalists, lawyers, clergymen, but not take part in hostilities. They are allowed to use weapons solely for self-defense. Therefore, international humanitarian law prohibits making them targets for military action, except when they themselves begin to fight and lose their status. If they are detained, they are not prisoners of war. Killing them is a crime against human rights.
Non-combatants also include de jure people.who are fighters, but not taking part in battles. States that have not ratified all the treaties necessary for the observance of humanitarian law, for example, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, must at least not torture non-combatants, degrade their dignity, take hostages and so on.
