[PW] Re: War crimes

[swguardian-stumpers at yahoo.com]

That would be the Lieber Code of 1863. 
   
  "The first attempt to lay down specific humanitarian rules to be applicable in time of war was the so-called Lieber Code, drafted by Professor Francis Lieber and, after revision by a board of officers, promulgated as General Orders No. 100 of the Union Army in 1863. Section II of that Code, containing Articles 31 to 47, provided for the "Protection of persons and especially of women, of religion, the arts and sciences. Punishment of crimes against the inhabitants of hostile countries". There were also provisions requiring the humane treatment of prisoners of war. This Code was, of course, a national action, not applicable to other countries, but it served as one of the sources of the international actions which were to follow." 
   
  That same year, 1863, an international conference meeting in Geneva drafted resolutions which called for each country to establish a committee to assist the medical services, and to provide for the neutrality of ambulances and medical personnel. This was the precursor for the Geneva Conferences which drafted the 1864 Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field and the 1868 Additional Articles relating to the Condition of the Wounded in War. 
  
Col. Howard S. Levie, USA Ret. 30 June 2000  International Review of the Red Cross No. 838
   
  JT Thompson <jtthompson at eircom.net> wrote:
  Another list is discussing when it started being regarded as a crime 
to target civilians in a war. Any answers?
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