Helen Carla L.

Tabernero

Reaction Paper in Human Rights

The webinar was on the topic of Issues in International Humanitarian Laws and

Children in Situations of Armed Conflict.

International Human Rights Law is rather peculiar. While many countries strive

to adhere to them, as evidenced by the many signatories to the United Nations, there

are still plenty of countries that engage in non-international armed conflicts. As

mentioned in the webinar, Syria and Yemen are the most famous countries for engaging

in these non-international armed conflicts. The Philippines is free from these types of

conflicts either; the webinar having made mention of the Marawi conflict from a few

years back.

It was also mentioned that civilians will never be the target of these armed

conflicts. I find this statement quite hard to believe, as most often than not, civilians are

the main casualties to these armed conflicts. It is the civilians who are uprooted from

their homes and forced to seek shelter in different provinces, regions, and even different

countries if the conflict reaches an all time dangerous level for everyone. These conflicts

stem from a misguided view on justice and the world- and it really makes one wonder

whether ending the lives of many innocent people would actually achieve anything.

A question was raised during the webinar. It was, whether or not civilians and

perhaps even legislators who support these armed groups would be considered

"combatants." The answer to this was fairly straightforward; it was no. Combatants

were defined as those actually engaged in the armed conflict itself. But that question

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can really make one think. If you support these forces- these groups that don't hesitate

to claim human lives and destroy homes- there should be some sort of punishment or

consequence or anything. But there isn't. One would think that there would be some,

and the fact that there isn't any, on the fact that these supporters are also deemed as

civilians. And as civilians, they are also afforded the same level of protection as any

other civilian would be.

Personally, if one should choose to support these armed groups, they should lose

their civilian status and be considered part of the armed group. If they were unwilling

supporters, they would still be able to keep their civilian status, but otherwise, they

shouldn't be afforded the protection given to civilians if they choose to support these

violent groups.

Overall, the webinar was very informative. It provided much insight to past and

on-going non-international armed conflicts. It was enlightening to hear from people

who were directly affected by the siege that occurred in Marawi all those years ago. The

opportunity to hear first-hand what it was like to have to relocate and basically start

anew while everything you ever knew crumbled right before your eyes; it really makes

one think in different perspectives.