From: rking164@comcast.net   
      
   An unlawful combatant, illegal combatant or unprivileged combatant/belligerent   
   is a person who directly engages in armed conflict in violation of the laws of   
   war and therefore is claimed not to be protected by the Geneva Conventions.   
   The International    
   Committee of the Red Cross points out that the terms "unlawful combatant",   
   "illegal combatant" or "unprivileged combatant/belligerent" are not defined in   
   any international agreements. While the concept of an unlawful combatant is   
   included in the Third    
   Geneva Convention, the phrase itself does not appear in the document. Article   
   4 of the Third Geneva Convention does describe categories under which a person   
   may be entitled to prisoner of war status. There are other international   
   treaties that deny    
   lawful combatant status for mercenaries and children.   
      
      
   The Geneva Conventions apply in wars between two or more opposing sovereign   
   states. They do not recognize any status of lawfulness for combatants in   
   conflicts not involving two or more nation-states, such as during civil wars   
   between state forces (   
   territorial or third state) and non-state armed groups. A state in such a   
   conflict is legally bound only to observe Common Article 3 of the Geneva   
   Conventions. All parties are otherwise completely free to either apply or not   
   apply any of the remaining    
   Articles of the Conventions. Article 5 of the Third Geneva Convention states   
   that the status of detainees whose combatant status is in doubt should be   
   determined by a "competent tribunal". Until such time, they must be treated as   
   prisoners of war.  After    
   a "competent tribunal" has determined that an individual is not a lawful   
   combatant, the "detaining power" may choose to accord the individual the   
   rights and privileges of a prisoner of war as described in the Third Geneva   
   Convention, but is not required    
   to do so. An individual who is not a lawful combatant, who is not a national   
   of a neutral state living in the belligerent territory, and who is not a   
   national of a co-belligerent state, retains rights and privileges under the   
   Fourth Geneva Convention and    
   must be "treated with humanity and, in case of trial, shall not be deprived of   
   the rights of fair and regular trial".   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)