Combatant - Privileged Combatants

Privileged Combatants

The following categories of combatants qualify for prisoner-of-war status on capture:

  1. Members of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict
  2. Members of militias not under the command of the armed forces, with the following traits:
    • that of being commanded by a person responsible for his subordinates;
    • that of having a fixed distinctive sign recognizable at a distance;
    • that of carrying arms openly;
    • that of conducting their operations in accordance with the laws and customs of war.
  3. Members of regular armed forces who profess allegiance to a government or an authority not recognized by the Detaining Power.
  4. Inhabitants of a non-occupied territory, who on the approach of the enemy spontaneously take up arms to resist the invading forces, without having had time to form themselves into regular armed units, provided they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war.

For countries which have signed the "Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts" (Protocol I), combatants who do not wear a distinguishing mark still qualify as prisoners of war if they carry arms openly during military engagements, and while visible to the enemy when they are deploying to conduct an attack against them.

Read more about this topic:  Combatant

Famous quotes containing the words privileged and/or combatants:

    “According to our social pyramid, all men who feel displaced racially, culturally, and/or because of economic hardships will turn on those whom they feel they can order and humiliate, usually women, children, and animals—just as they have been ordered and humiliated by those privileged few who are in power. However, this definition does not explain why there are privileged men who behave this way toward women.”
    —Ana Castillo (b. 1953)

    “The social kiss is an exchange of insincerity between two combatants on the field of social advancement. It places hygiene before affection and condescension before all else.”
    —Sunday Correspondent (London, Aug. 12, 1990)