to gain protection. GP I, art. 27. See more developed discussion in the
outline on the Geneva Convention on the Wounded and Sick.
d. Cultural Property. Prohbition against attacking cultural property. The
1954 Cultural Property Convention elaborates, but does not expand, the
protections accorded cultural property found in other treaties. HR, art. 27;
FM 27- 10, para. 45,57. The Convention has not been ratified by the US
(treaty is currently under review with a view toward ratification with
minor understandings). See GP I, art. 53, for similar prohibitions.
Cultural property includes buildings dedicated to religion, art, science,
charitable purposes, historic monuments, hospitals, and places where the
sick and wounded are collected.
(1)Misuse will subject them to attack.
(2)Enemy has duty to indicate presence of such buildings with visible and
distinctive signs.
- Works and Installations Containing Dangerous Forces. GP I, art. 56, and GP
11, art. 15. The rules are not U.S. law but should be considered because of
the pervasive international acceptance of GP I and 11. Under the Protocols,
dams, dikes, and nuclear electrical generating stations shall not be attacked -
even if they are military objectives -if the attack will cause the release of
dangerous forces and cause "severe losses" among the civilian population.
(U.S. objects to "severe loss" language as creating a different standard than
customary proportionality test -"excessive" incidental injury or damage.)
a. Military objectives that are near these potentially dangerous forces are
also immune from attack if the attack may cause release of the forces
(parties also have a duty to avoid locating military objectives near such
locations).
b. May attack works and installations containing dangerous forces only if
they provide "significant and direct support" to military operations and
attack is the only feasible way to terminate the support. The U.S. objects
to this provision as creating a standard that differs from the customary
definition of a military objective as an object that makes "an effective
contribution to military action."
c. Parties may construct defensive weapons systems to protect works and
installations containing dangerous forces. These weapons systems may
