Collective punishment

Collective punishment is the punishment of a group of people as a result of the behavior of one or more other individuals or groups. The punished group may often have no direct association with the other individuals or groups, or direct control over their actions. In times of war and armed conflict , collective punishment has resulted in atrocities , and is a violation of the laws of war and the Geneva Conventions . Historically, occupying powers have used collective punishment to retaliate against and deter attacks on their forces by resistance movements (e.g. destroying whole towns and villages where attacks have taken place).

German announcement of killing 2300 civilians in the Kragujevac massacre as retaliation for 10 German soldiers killed by partisans in Nazi-occupied Serbia , 1941 Collective punishment is a form of retaliation whereby a suspected perpetrator's family members, friends, acquaintances, sect , neighbours or entire ethnic group is targeted. The punished group may often have no direct association with the other individuals or groups, or direct control over their actions. In times of war and armed conflict, collective punishment has resulted in atrocities, and is a violation of the laws of war and the Geneva Conventions . Historically, occupying powers have used collective punishment to retaliate against and deter attacks on their forces by resistance movements (e.g. destroying entire towns and villages where such attacks have occurred).

Nazi German announcement of killing 2300 civilians in the Kragujevac massacre as retaliation for 10 German soldiers killed by Yugoslav Partisans in Nazi-occupied Serbia , 1941 Collective punishment is a form of retaliation whereby a suspected perpetrator's family members , friends, acquaintances, sect , neighbors or entire ethnic group is targeted. The punished group may often have no direct association with the other individuals or groups, or direct control over their actions. In times of war and armed conflict, collective punishment has resulted in atrocities, and is a violation of the laws of war and the Geneva Conventions . Historically, occupying powers have used collective punishment to retaliate against and deter attacks on their forces by Resistance movements (such as destroying entire towns and villages which were believed to have harboured or aided such resistance movements). Garner, Bryan A. , ed. Collective punishment was outlawed in 1949 by the Geneva Convention.

Legal term Not to be confused with Collective responsibility . Nazi German announcement of killing 2300 civilians in the Kragujevac massacre as retaliation for 10 German soldiers killed by Yugoslav Partisans in Nazi-occupied Serbia , 1941 Collective punishment is a punishment or sanction imposed on a group for acts allegedly perpetrated by a member of that group, which could be an ethnic or political group, or just the family, friends and neighbors of the perpetrator. Because individuals who are not responsible for the wrong acts are targeted, collective punishment is not compatible with the basic principle of individual responsibility. The punished group may often have no direct association with the perpetrator other than living in the same area and can not be assumed to exercise control over the perpetrator's actions. Collective punishment is prohibited by treaty in both international and non-international armed conflicts, more specifically Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocol II. When collective punishment has been imposed it has resulted in atrocities. Historically, occupying powers have used collective punishment against resistance movements . In some cases entire towns and villages believed to have harboured or aided such resistance movements have been destroyed. Occupying powers have claimed that collective punishment can be justified by necessity as a deterrent. Another view is that it is a retaliatory act prohibited under the laws of war . Garner, Bryan A. , ed. Collective punishment was outlawed in 1949 by the Geneva Convention.

Legal term Not to be confused with Collective responsibility . A public announcement by Nazi Germany in occupied Serbia on 21 October 1941, stating that the killing of 2,300 people in the Kragujevac massacre was carried out in retaliation for the killing of 10 German soldiers by the Yugoslav Partisans , and warning that punishments of the "same severity" (100 people for each killed soldier and 50 people for each wounded soldier) will take place for future incidents. Collective punishment is a punishment or sanction imposed on a group or whole community for acts allegedly perpetrated by a member or some members of that group or area, which could be an ethnic or political group, or just the family, friends and neighbors of the perpetrator, as well as entire cities and communities where the perpetrator(s) allegedly committed the crime. Because individuals who are not responsible for the acts are targeted, collective punishment is not compatible with the basic principle of individual responsibility. The punished group may often have no direct association with the perpetrator other than living in the same area and can not be assumed to exercise control over the perpetrator's actions. Collective punishment is prohibited by treaty in both international and non-international armed conflicts, more specifically Common Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention and Article 4 of the Additional Protocol II . Garner, Bryan A. , ed. Collective punishment was outlawed in 1949 by the Geneva Convention.