Experts on international law from various countries gathered in Taipei yesterday for a conference on international humanitarian law (IHL) and the challenges it faces.
IHL is not an actual law, but rather a set of rules governing armed conflicts drawn from customary practices and formal conventions agreed upon by states, said Umesh Kadam, a regional adviser for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Kuala Lumpur.
"The fundamental rules of IHL include ensuring humane treatment to persons not taking part in hostilities and collecting and caring for the wounded and sick -- even if those wounded were your enemy," Kadam said at a forum hosted by Taiwan's Red Cross Society and the ICRC.
TARGETS
"Most importantly, care must be taken in distinguishing between combatants and civilians and making sure that only military targets are attacked," he said.
The means and methods employed in warfare are also limited by IHL, Kadam said.
"Weapons that may cause unnecessary suffering and are incapable of distinguishing between military and civilian targets are prohibited," Kadman said.
Some participants at the forum raised questions about the applicability of IHL.
CHALLENGES
One of the challenges that IHL faces, Kadam said, is ensuring that non-state combatants such as terrorists follow its guidelines.
"It's the greatest challenge at this time," Kadam said.
At the forum, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) gave an example of a "customary practice" that later become part of IHL.
"In China, we also have a rule of war -- when two states are at odds, they should not kill each other's envoys," he said.
NOT `INTERNATIONAL'
Ma also said that because of the "special and unique status of Taiwan ... conflict between mainland China and Taiwan would of course not be considered an international conflict."
In response, Harry Roque, an international law professor at University of the Philippines, said IHL "excludes internal disturbances, tensions, riots, isolated and armed violence and other acts of violence," but would apply to "the use of force between armed forces of a state and a dissident armed group under responsible command [that] exercises control over a part of a territory, is able to carry out sustained and concerted military occupation and has the ability to implement IHL."
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is pushing for residents of Kinmen and Lienchiang counties to acquire Chinese ID cards in a bid to “blur national identities,” a source said. The efforts are part of China’s promotion of a “Kinmen-Xiamen twin-city living sphere, including a cross-strait integration pilot zone in China’s Fujian Province,” the source said. “The CCP is already treating residents of these outlying islands as Chinese citizens. It has also intensified its ‘united front’ efforts and infiltration of those islands,” the source said. “There is increasing evidence of espionage in Kinmen, particularly of Taiwanese military personnel being recruited by the
ENTERTAINERS IN CHINA: Taiwanese generally back the government being firm on infiltration and ‘united front’ work,’ the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association said Most people support the government probing Taiwanese entertainers for allegedly “amplifying” the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda, a survey conducted by the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association showed on Friday. Public support stood at 56.4 percent for action by the Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of Culture to enhance scrutiny on Taiwanese performers and artists who have developed careers in China while allegedly adhering to the narrative of Beijing’s propaganda that denigrates or harms Taiwanese sovereignty, the poll showed. Thirty-three percent did not support the action, it showed. The poll showed that 51.5 percent of respondents supported the government’s investigation into Taiwanese who have
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
A Philippine official has denied allegations of mistreatment of crew members during Philippine authorities’ boarding of a Taiwanese fishing vessel on Monday. Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) spokesman Nazario Briguera on Friday said that BFAR law enforcement officers “observed the proper boarding protocols” when they boarded the Taiwanese vessel Sheng Yu Feng (昇漁豐號) and towed it to Basco Port in the Philippines. Briguera’s comments came a day after the Taiwanese captain of the Sheng Yu Feng, Chen Tsung-tun (陳宗頓), held a news conference in Pingtung County and accused the Philippine authorities of mistreatment during the boarding of
RSS