Coercion by Convenient Collective
As I see it
A Collection of international criminals whimsically calling out disfavored—often previously created or embraced — “demons.” In lawlessness far removed from the rule of law (violent vigilantism), the criminal collective makes a show of purging the “demons”: checking and chastising manufactured “wrongs” (which always return) of whimsically (relentlessly) created (armed and activated) “wrongdoers.”The ICRC Describes “Collective Punishments”
https://casebook.icrc.org/a_to_z/glossary/collective-punishments
Collective Punishments (excerpt) have been used “historically … by occupying powers … as a deterrence tool … to prevent attacks from resistance movements.”
PROHIBITED under International Humanitarian Law are “collective punishments … against prisoners of war or other protected persons… for acts committed by individuals during an armed conflict.”
“Collective punishment” refers not only to “criminal punishment” but also to acts such as “sanctions,” “harassment,” or “administrative” retaliation against a group “for an act (or acts) committed by an individual (or individuals) … considered to form part of the group.”
The execution of such “punishment,” therefore, “targets people who IN NO WAY bear responsibility “for having committed the conduct in question.”
“Sanctions,” in my view, are coercion, control, containment, denial of advancement (punishment for what?) by a collective of nations conveniently corralled (often to their disadvantage) to impose economic strangulation or military might against arbitrarily chosen “others.”
Sanctions policy and execution are a form of lawlessness by a collection of “punishers” against other cultures, nations, countries, individuals or entities based on a pretext of some arbitrarily defined (e.g., nonexistent “WMD’s,” manufactured “terroristic”) lawlessness.
“The imposition of collective punishment is a war CRIME”—a deliberate brazen breach of international humanitarian law. https://casebook.icrc.org/law/icrc; https://casebook.icrc.org/a_to_z/glossary/collective-punishments
“Sanctions,” in my view, are coercion, control, containment, denial of advancement (punishment for what?) by a collective of nations conveniently corralled (often to their disadvantage) to impose economic strangulation or military might against arbitrarily chosen “others.”
Sanctions policy and execution are a form of lawlessness by a collection of “punishers” against other cultures, nations, countries, individuals or entities based on a pretext of some arbitrarily defined (e.g., nonexistent “WMD’s,” manufactured “terroristic”) lawlessness.
Lawlessness to end Lawlessness.
United States Transnational Sanctions
A partial listing as of 2023
|
Balkans Belarus Burma Central African Republic Chinese Military Cos. |
Democratic Republic of Congo Iran Iraq Lebanon Mali |
Nicaragua North Korea Russian Federation Somalia South Sudan |
Sudan and Darfur Syria Ukraine-/Russia Venezuela |
Source: US Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control https://ofac.treasury.gov/sanctions-programs-and-country-information
Law Amid Lawlessness
Geneva Conventions (1864-1949)
Establishing “international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva_Conventions
- 1899 Hague Conventions address “use of wartime conventional weapons”
- 1907, 1980 Convention addresses “Certain Conventional Weapons”
- 1925 Geneva Protocol addresses biological and chemical warfare in international armed conflicts
- 1949 Geneva Convention(s) covers agreements negotiated in the aftermath of the Second World War (1939–1945), an updating of terms of 1929 treaties and addition of two new conventions.
- Define, extensively, “the basic rights of wartime prisoners, civilians, and military personnel
- Establish protections for the wounded and sick; and
- Provide protections for the civilians in and around a war-zone.”
Geneva Convention and ICRC
The first Geneva Convention (August 22, 1864) “for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field” was adopted in conference by signatories representing 12 states and kingdoms:|
Swiss Confederation [Switzerland] Grand Duchy of Baden [Southwest Germany] Kingdom of Belgium Kingdom of Denmark Kingdom of Spain French Empire |
Grand Duchy of Hesse (Western Germany] Kingdom of Italy Kingdom of the Netherlands Kingdom of Portugal / the Algarve Kingdom of Prussia [German State] Kingdom of Württemberg [German State] |
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was established in 1863 at the origin of the Geneva Conventions and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The ICRC describes itself as “an impartial, neutral and independent organization whose exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence and to provide them with assistance.” The ICRC “directs and coordinates the international activities conducted by the Movement in armed conflicts and other situations of violence.” https://www.icrc.org/en/document/history-icrc; https://www.icrc.org/en/who-we-are/history/founding
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies May 5, 1919 - ) combines “the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the 192 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies”— “a global humanitarian network of 80 million people” helping people “facing disaster, conflict and health and social problems.” https://www.icrc.org/en/who-we-are/movement%C2%A0
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Red_Cross_and_Red_Crescent_Movement
International Humanitarian Law versus Lawlessness and Impunity (excerpt)
“CIVILIANS IN WAR ALSO NEED TO BE RESPECTED BY THE BELLIGERENT (entity) OPPOSING THE PARTY IN WHOSE HANDS THEY ARE, WHO COULD, FOR EXAMPLE, BOMB THEIR TOWNS, ATTACK THEM ON THE BATTLEFIELD, OR HINDER THE DELIVERY OF FOOD SUPPLIES OR FAMILY MESSAGES.These rules on the protection of the civilian population against the effects of hostilities, which are set out for the most part in Protocol I and customary law (partly based on the 1907 Hague Regulations), are part of the law of the conduct of hostilities and benefit all civilians finding themselves on the territory of parties to an international armed conflict.” (The Law / Civilian population: Introductory text https://casebook.icrc.org/law/civilian-population#ii_3_b_ee
U.S. “Collective Punishment” in news headlines
Al Jazeera News 2014-2023
[As Killings in Gaza by November 2, 2023, exceed 9,000 deaths]
- November 17, 2014: “East Jerusalem under ‘collective punishment’” (Jerusalem News)
- March 4, 2018: “UN on Syria: Collective punishment of civilians unacceptable”
- July 17, 2018: “‘Collective punishment’: Israel blocks fuel shipment to Gaza…, further tightening its blockade on the strip (denounced by) rights group
- Jun 10, 2023: “‘Collective Punishment’: Israel demolishes Palestinian homes”
- June 16, 2023: “The real problem with Israel’s ‘collective punishment’ (Israel)
- October 9, 2023: “Is ‘total’ Gaza Blockade a collective punishment against Palestinians?”
- October 11, 2023: “‘Collective punishment of millions not justified’ (says) Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf” (Israel-Gaza)
- October 18, 2023: “UN chief (Secretary-General António) Guterres condemns ‘collective punishment’ of Palestinians”
SANCTIONS
- December 9, 2020: “Trump imposed sanctions at record pace. Will Biden be different?
“The Trump administration has imposed sanctions at a record-shattering pace of about three times a day during the president’s time in office: a slew of measures targeting companies, individuals and even oil tankers tied to Iran, North Korea, China, Venezuela and Russia.”
- February 21, 2021: “US sanctions inflicted $1trillion damage on Iran’s economy”
- January 5, 2022: “US imposes sanctions on Bosnian Serb leader (Milorad) Dodik”
- February 24, 2022: “Canada, the European Union, Japan, New Zealand, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States unveiled a series of sanctions against Russia”
- July 24, 2023: “US sanctions Mali’s Minister of Defense and other State officials” related to presence of (mercenary group) Wagner in the West African nation
Ricochet
But while the Russian economy has managed successfully “to adjust to outside pressure” and find substitutes for trade losses, “European countries” (states including the UK, France and Germany) … have been “grappling with soaring inflation” and related “strikes and protests against the high cost of living.”The European bloc has effectively “inflicted damage on itself,” Hungary’s Prime Minister has observed. Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin also has noted statistics showing that past “partners”-turned-antagonists imposing “countless packages of sanctions” intended to “punish” Russia have seen their actions ricochet— “hitting their own economies (and particularly workers’) jobs.” RT News November 2, 2023 “West hurting itself with sanctions – Putin: Russia’s president said the restrictions have failed to tank the nation’s economy,” https://www.rt.com/russia/586388-putin-sanctions-hurting-west/
“The Western sanctions on Russia have backfired and instead hurt the countries that imposed them, President Vladimir Putin said during a government meeting on Wednesday.”
Composition, Compilation Commentary excluding quoted material and individual images
Copyright © Carolyn LaDelle Bennett
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