Once upon a time in Europe, it was customary for the warring armies to converge in the open field and resolve issues regarding who is in charge, whose territory it is, and engage in other political “showdowns”. But even at that time, many military leaders hired the so-called rutiers, who robbed and killed the population without any rules, and the knights seemed to have nothing to do with it. Therefore, the question arose of who exactly could fight during the armed conflict, what should these people be called. So the term "combatant" appeared. This word came to us from the French language, it began to mean a person who is directly involved in any conflict with weapons in his hands.
Who are the combatants
Such people have always existed, but acquired a special legal status relatively recently. This happened at the beginning of the last century, in 1907, when the so-called Fourth Hague Convention was adopted. In this Dutch city, in which, according to tradition, many issues of international importance are resolved, a special conference was held.
As a result of rather lengthy and heated discussions, the participants agreed among themselves on the criteria by which the fighters of the warring forces can be called in a special way. So, combatants in international law are people who take part in an armed conflict, but are noticeably different from other groups using force methods.
Specificity and differences
Of course, this type of fighting official soldiers are. But since military operations are conducted not only by regular armies, but sometimes by various kinds of militias, it was decided that they are also combatants. For this, volunteer units must meet certain criteria. First of all, they should have a boss who is responsible for their actions. They must have some kind of distinctive signs or uniform, which will immediately show that they are fighters, not civilians. And these people should carry weapons openly. In addition, they must comply with humanitarian law when conducting military operations, as well as regular military ones.
What relies on combatants
By the way, such “recognized fighters” may include civilians who took up arms as a result of an unexpected invasion of the enemy army if regular troops did not manage to defend this territory and left their units there. But at the same time they must meet all of the above criteria. True, citizens of those countries that became parties to the First Protocol to the 1948 Geneva Conventions do not have to wear a distinguishing sign. However, other requirements, including the open carrying of weapons, so that the opposite side knows who to shoot at, remain. This means that a combatant is a person who voluntarily puts himself in danger of being wounded and killed. In the event of his capture by enemies, he has the right to prisoner of war status. And they should be treated accordingly.
If we are talking about military pilots, then it is forbidden to shoot at them, if they land on parachutes from a downed plane, and then they should be asked to surrender.
Privileged and Unprivileged Combatant
This difference between different types of fighters comes from the following: de facto fighting, de jure certain groups of people may not meet the criteria of the Hague Convention. For example, if soldiers or militias shoot prisoners, kill the wounded, or otherwise violate humanitarian law. In addition, spies, mercenaries, all who do not fall into the above categories, are unprivileged combatants. International law requires that in case of doubt about what kind of combatants a given person belongs to, he is first kept as a prisoner of war, and then a special tribunal decides his fate.
What can a combatant count on?
It depends on many factors. The 1977 Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions grants the status of combatants to combatants, even if their authority or authorities are not officially recognized by the warring party. The state, or at least its command, is responsible for the fighter himself. It gives him the right to kill and shoot to kill, but it has no right to order him to violate the laws of war and human rights.
Recently, not only participants in an international conflict are called combatants , but also representatives of the belligerent and insurgent parties, if we are talking about the internal problems of one state. But in this case, all of them must meet the legal criteria. As for the unprivileged combatants, they are protected by the Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions. They must expect fair justice.
Who are non-combatants
Contrary to popular belief, it is not only civilians and civilians. Combatants and non-combatants are, first of all, the difference between people in the armed forces (not so important, regular or voluntary), but not fighting directly. These people can serve the army, be journalists, lawyers, clergy, but not take part in hostilities. They are allowed to use weapons exclusively for self-defense. Therefore, international humanitarian law prohibits making them targets for military operations, except when they themselves begin to engage in battle and lose their status. If they are detained, they are not prisoners of war. Their killing is a crime against human rights.
Non-combatants also include people who are de jure fighters but do not take part in battles. States that have not ratified all necessary treaties for the observance of humanitarian law, for example, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, are obliged to at least not torture non-combatants, not to humiliate their dignity, not to take hostages and so on.