No abstract

The territory of Western Sahara has an area of about 280,000 sq. km and approximately 250,000 inhabitants, known as Sahrawis. It is situated in the north-west of the African continent, where the Sahara Desert meets the Atlantic Ocean, and has a coastline of more than 1,000 km. In the north, Western Sahara has a common border of 443 km with Morocco, and in the south and west it is bordered by Mauritania (1,561 km). The territory also has a short common border of 42 km with Algeria. The climate is predominantly that of the desert: hot and dry in summer, cold in winter, with little or no rainfall. In the coastal regions vegetation may be abundant. While the Sahrawis were originally nomads, most of the population now lives in small towns and villages. The economy is based on agriculture and fishing, primarily destined for local consumption. Rich phosphate deposits are the main export commodity. There seem to be oil deposits off the Atlantic coast.

Resolution 1 adopted by the 26th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (Geneva, 1995) endorsed the recommendations drawn up by an intergovernmental group of experts charged with translating the Final Declaration of the International Conference for the Protection of War Victims (Geneva, August/September 1993) into proposals for “concrete and effective measures”. These recommendations are addressed primarily to the States party to the Geneva Conventions, including the depositary of those instruments. However, the ICRC, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies are also urged to contribute to the effort of achieving better implementation of international humanitarian law, the main objective being to prevent violations from occurring.

RésuméLe droit international humanitaire interdit sans exception tout acte terroriste commis lors des conflits armés internationaux et non internationaux. Il demande aussi aux États de prévenir et punir les violations de ce droit. Les actes de terrorisme peuvent être des crimes de guerre soumis à la juridiction universelle et la Cour pénale internationale peut être compétente en la matière. Inversement, le combat contre le terrorisme et la poursuite des personnes suspectées d'avoir commis des actes terroristes sont régis par le droit humanitaire s'ils ont lieu lors d'un conflit armé. Ce droit n'est pas un obstacle pour combattre le terrorisme et les terroristes suspectés peuvent être poursuivis pour leurs actes de terreur. Mais même les membres de forces armés ou les «combattants illégaux» suspectés d'avir commis des actes de terreur sont des personnes protégées par les Conventions de Genève et ont droit à des garanties judiciaires s'ils se trouvent devant un tribunal.

No abstract