Perfidy
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In the context of war, perfidy is a form of deception in which one side promises to act in good faith (such as by raising a flag of truce) with the intention of breaking that promise once the unsuspecting enemy is exposed (such as by coming out of cover to take the "surrendering" prisoners into custody).
Perfidy constitutes a breach of the
Geneva Conventions
Perfidy is specifically prohibited under the 1977 Protocol I Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, which states:
Article 37. – Prohibition of perfidy
1. It is prohibited to kill, injure or capture an adversary by resort to perfidy. Acts inviting the confidence of an adversary to lead him to believe that he is entitled to, or is obliged to accord, protection under the rules of international law applicable in armed conflict, with intent to betray that confidence, shall constitute perfidy. The following acts are examples of perfidy:
- (a) The
feigning of an intent to negotiate under a flag of truce or of a surrender;- (b) The feigning of an incapacitation by wounds or sickness;
- (c) The feigning of civilian, non-combatant status; and
- (d) The feigning of protected status by the use of signs,
emblems or uniforms of the United Nationsor of neutral or other States not Parties to the conflict.2. Ruses of war are not prohibited. Such ruses are acts that are intended to mislead an adversary or to induce him to act recklessly but which infringe no rule of international law applicable in armed conflict and which are not perfidious because they do not invite the confidence of an adversary with respect to protection under that law. The following are examples of such ruses: the use of camouflage, decoys, mock operations and misinformation.
Article 38. – Recognized emblems
1. It is prohibited to make improper use of the distinctive emblem of the red cross, red crescent or red lion and sun or of other emblems, signs or signals provided for by the Conventions or by this Protocol. It is also prohibited to misuse deliberately in an armed conflict other internationally recognized protective emblems, signs or signals, including the flag of truce, and the protective emblem of cultural property.
2. It is prohibited to make use of the distinctive emblem of the United Nations, except as authorized by that Organization.
Article 39. – Emblems of nationality
1. It is prohibited to make use in an armed conflict of the flags or military emblems, insignia or uniforms of neutral or other States not Parties to the conflict.
2. It is prohibited to make use of the flags or military emblems, insignia or uniforms of adverse Parties while engaging in attacks or to shield, favour, protect or impede military operations.
3. Nothing in this Article or in Article 37, paragraph 1(d), shall affect the existing generally recognized rules of international law applicable to espionage or to the use of flags in the conduct of armed conflict at sea.
History
Disapproval of perfidy was part of the customary laws of war long before the prohibition of perfidy was included in Protocol I. For example, in the
In addition to the prohibitions provided by special Conventions, it is especially forbidden ... (b) To kill or wound treacherously individuals belonging to the hostile nation or army; ... (f) To make improper use of a flag of truce, of the national flag, or of the military insignia and military uniform of the enemy, as well as the distinctive badges of the Geneva Convention; ...
The
During the
At the
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russian soldiers have been accused of perfidy on numerous occasions, including the Makiivka surrender incident.[9]
See also
- Bad faith
- Betrayal
- False flag
- Good faith
- Inherent bad faith model
- Perfidious Albion
- Unsportsmanlike conduct
- War Crimes Act of 1996 (incorporated into US law)
References
- ^ "New evidence challenges claim Tom Barry invented story of false surrender at Kilmichael". The Irish Times.
- ^ "Kilmichael Ambush 28 November 1920 | Irish News Archives". www.irishnewsarchive.com.
- ^ Maxwell, Nick (October 28, 2020). "The Kilmichael ambush and the outer limits of Irish historical revisionism".
- ISBN 978-0-295-98336-3, p. 116
- ^ Galen Roger Perras (March 2003). Stepping Stones to Nowhere: The Aleutian Islands, Alaska, and American Military Strategy, 1867-1945. University of British Columbia Press. p. 232.
- ^ Kenneth Rose (October 10, 2007). Myth and the Greatest Generation: A Social History of Americans in World War II. Routledge. p. 264.
- ^ Source: Law Reports of Trials of War Criminals. United Nations War Crimes Commission. Vol. IX, 1949: Trial of Otto Skorzeny and others General Military Government Court of the U.S. zone of Germany 18 August to 9 September 1947
- ^ Koessler, Maxmillan (1959). "International Law on Use of Enemy Uniforms As a Stratagem and the Acquittal in the Skorzeny Case". Missouri Law Review.
- ^ "Videos Suggest Captive Russian Soldiers Were Killed at Close Range". The New York Times. 20 November 2022. Archived from the original on 26 November 2022.