Karnataka - Bangalore

Peace time terror acts, the biggest challenge

BANGALORE: Terrorist acts committed during peace time, which do not come under the international humanitarian law, pose the biggest challenge to those involved in protection of human lives and providing material assistance to the affected, Governor Rameshwar Thakur said on Monday.

Delivering the key-note address at the 11th South Asian Teaching Session on “International Humanitarian Law: Issues and Challenges,” he said: “The international humanitarian law applies only in situations of armed conflicts and it does not regulate terrorist acts committed in peace time. Added to this is outcry over human rights from some activists.”

“The events of September 11 and their aftermath revealed complicated scenarios that deviated from the hitherto known forms of war. Many controversies arise because the dominant patterns that operate within the Geneva Conventions do not fit the phenomenon of global terrorism,” he added.

Mr. Thakur said that the ICRC and the United Nations faced major challenges in deciding how to ensure implementation of the provisions of conventions. He said that the Geneva Conventions were as relevant today as they were in 1949.

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu