The Status of Combatants

Abstract

Abstract My starting point is the fact that there are powerful moral objections to the attacking, and indeed targeting, of non-combatants. This is a key element in the moral guidance offered by the jus in bello for the conduct of war. As we shall see, however, there are ambiguities in the interpretation of the terms ‘combatant’ and ‘non-combatant’ that make this guidance contestable in various ways. Moreover, on any plausible interpretation, this prohibition was more honoured in the breach than in the observance during many of the wars of the twentieth century that were dominated by the awesome power of air bombardment. Against this trend, the prohibition has become more respected, at least in word, if not always in deed, during some of the larger scale wars of the past fifteen years or so. There is, of course, no reason to become complacent about this since non-combatants are still directly targeted in many contemporary conflicts, and where they are not, their lives and property are still at great risk from the morally glib acceptability of the doctrine of ‘collateral damage’.