Chapter 1

In the 21st century it has become necessary to abolish war itself as an accepted means of settling international disputes, much in the same way as we have abolished slavery in the 19th century and colonialism in the 20th century. 

 

“Reaffirming further that the provisions of the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and of this Protocol must be fully applied in all circumstances to all persons who are protected by those instruments…”

Chapter 2

 

Chapter 3

 

... the uncertain combination of human fallibility and nuclear weapons carries a high risk of a potential catastrophe. Is there a military justification to accept that risk? The answer is no.

The technological revolution applied to information technology, has been diffusing power away from governments and empowering individuals and groups to play roles in world politics — including wreaking massive destruction — that were once reserved for the governments of states...

Chapter 4

 

Chapter 5

The 20th Century will go down as the bloodiest century in all of human history. We will have lost 160 million people, killed at conflict... If we want to avoid repeting this tragedy in the 21st Century, it is high time to start...

Do not bombard Buenos Aires, we cannot defend ourselves. 
The guys in my neighbourhood hid inside the pipes, 
They spy the sky, wear hemmets, smoke crack, while listening to Clash. 

 

Chapter 6

 

Capitulo 7

 

The possibility of integrating all the countries in the region to advance on the declaration “LATIN AMERICA: REGION OF CITIES FOR PEACE” is based on the search of consensus with a view to decide on a regional policy to banish war, terrorism and armed conflicts of any origin whatsoever from the continent. 

 

Chapter 2 - The Law

 

 

Reaffirming further that the provisions of the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and of this Protocol must be fully applied in all circumstances to all persons who are protected by those instruments, without any adverse distinction based on the nature or origin of the armed conflict or on the causes espoused by or attributed to the Parties to the conflict...
(Additional Protocol I)

Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 
and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts
Preamble

 

The cruelty present in the bombings dumped on European and Japanese cities just before the outbreak and at the final stages of the Second World War, are most likely to have affected the decision of incorporating new rules concerning the treatment of victims of armed conflicts, to the International Humanitarian Law (IHL) . 

 

The main IHL instruments, whose essential object is to limit as well as to prevent human suffering in times of war, are assembled in the four 1949 Geneva Conventions and the two 1977 Additional Protocols . 

 

However, the will to protect civilians against the effects of hostilities already existed since the beginnings of the 20th Century. So it is stipulated in the 1907 Hague Regulations, whose general principle, based on the Saint Petersburgh Declaration (1868), states that “the only legitimate object of war should be to weaken the military force of the enemy”. Therefore, article 25 states that “the attack or bombardment, by whatever means, of towns, villages, dwellings, or buildings which are undefended is prohibited”. In case of siege of a defended town, “the officer in command of an attacking force must, before commencing a bombardment, except in cases of assault, do all in his power to warn the authorities”. However, due to the period in which such Regulations were written, the rules for combat refer only to the event of land attacks and bombardments carried out by naval forces.

 

The texts included in the first three Geneva Conventions, subscribed in 1864, 1906 and 1929 respectively, made no reference to the protection of civilians. It was only in the fourth Geneva Convention of August 1949 and its two Additional Protocols, added in 1977 , that an agreement was reached, for the first time, to limit the use of methods and means utilized in armed conflicts –including aerial bombardments- with the aim of protecting persons not being actively involved in the hostilities. 

 

The provisions included in Protocol I to the 1949 Geneva Convention —which specifically refer to victims of international armed conflicts— confer special protection to certain areas (by means of the decision of the parties concerned or of the parties to the conflict), to certain properties expressly chosen and to aid operations in favour of civilian persons.