International figures gather to plead for respect in war
Regional, Politics, 8/12/1999

International figures today marked the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Geneva Conventions and appealed for atrocities and war crimes to be made a thing of the past.

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and Prince Hassan of Jordan were among those who signed a declaration urging combatants to respect the treaties, which protect civilians, the injured and prisoners during war.

The four conventions were signed in the Alabama Room at Geneva's town hall on Aug. 12, 1949, and have since been adopted by 188 nations.

Today's participants went to the same room today to sign the appeal, which calls on all nations to work to eradicate war and to ensure that those who are not fighting, especially civilians, are protected.

The appeal called for respect for human dignity and insisted that war should not be treated as inevitable.

"We are convinced that disregard for these principles sets the stage for war and that respecting them during wartime facilitates the restoration of peace," the document said.

Annan said civilians have more and more become targets during warfare.

"These flagrant violations of international humanitarian law the wholesale expulsion of an entire people from their native land, summary and arbitrary executions, mutilation, rape... have taken place not as the effect of war but as the essence of warfare," he said.

But, Annan added, the Geneva Conventions were being given more life and relevance by the creation of the international tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

Hassan said, "Human rights are the common possession of all members of the human family, regardless of differences."

The ceremonies are being treated not as a celebration but as an opportunity to mark the successes of the treaties and to look at how they can be improved.

In a reference to the anniversary, Pope John Paul II on Wednesday noted "that minimum protection of dignity guaranteed to every human being under international human rights laws is too often violated for military or political purposes."

Previous Stories:
  Holland to try asylum-seekers on war crimes charges   (8/5/1999)
  Amnesty International discloses Israeli atrocities against detainees   (7/22/1999)
  International human rights conference gives Barak a chance to prove peace intention   (7/16/1999)

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