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Illegal combatants are militants or civilians who act outside the rules of war. They must be treated humanely, but detaining them can lead to inhumane treatment. Terrorist groups are irregular military personnel and often use stealth tactics. Provisions for prisoners of war do not apply to irregular military groups. The global war on terrorism has led to expanded authority and restrictions on citizens’ rights. Targeted killing of illegal combatants is defended as a defensive action, but raises questions about morality and violation of international law. Illegitimate combatants must receive humane treatment and are subject to domestic law or military court. Acts of torture and ill-treatment against them continue to occur.
Illegal combatants are militants or civilians who act with hostile intent outside the rules of war established by international humanitarian law. Under Article III of the 1949 Third Geneva Convention (GCIII), an unlawful combatant must be treated humanely even without prisoner of war (POW) status. Governments eliminate the threat by tracking them down and capturing or killing them on purpose. International human rights groups fear that detaining people as illegal combatants gives governments leeway to treat them inhumanely.
Terrorist groups do not belong to an organized state army or militia, and have no state-sanctioned sanctions for engaging in battle against enemy soldiers. They are considered irregular military personnel, outside of conventional militaries, and often engage in stealth tactics and hit-and-run attacks. Sanctioned Special Forces often adopt these same strategies, using them in their own conflicts and, in turn, against an illegal combatant they have targeted.
Provisions of GCIII relating to prisoners of war include open licenses for carrying firearms, membership of an army or state-sanctioned militia that has a distinguishing mark such as a uniform or insignia, and being under the command of a person responsible for subordinates. They must conduct their operations according to recognized rules of combat. Irregular military groups generally do not meet these requirements.
Under emergency law, a nation’s governing body or individual is often given unprecedented power to expand authority or enact laws that restrict the rights and freedoms of citizens. The global war on terrorism has caused some nations to institute curfews, searches, martial law and surveillance to root out terrorist cells and illegal fighters. Attempts by these groups to use protected people and property as shields are violations of the accepted laws of war.
Targeted killing is the extermination of an unlawful combatant who participates in armed conflict or terrorist activity and is not protected by the GCIII. Human rights groups have raised questions about the morality of a secret “dead list” and its possible violation of international law, which prohibits execution without due process. They argue that faulty intelligence increases collateral damage and kills innocent civilians. The targeted killing of an illegal combatant is defended not as assassination but as a defensive action.
An illegitimate combatant may be subject to the domestic law of the country of detention or to a military court. Before being declared as such, the GCIII must receive humane treatment. This precludes the use of torture, humiliation, degradation and execution. The United Nations Convention Against Torture commits signatory nations to avoid serious ill-treatment even in times of war. While most of the world has adopted the Convention, human rights groups have found that these acts against the illegal combatant continue to occur.
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