Collective punishment

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Collective punishment is the punishment of a group of people for the crime(s) of a few or even of one. It is contradictory to the modern concept of due process, where each individual receives separate treatment based on his or her role in the crime in question. Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention specifically forbids collective punishment.

Joseph Stalin's mass deportations of several nations of the USSR to remote regions (including the Chechens, Crimean Tatars) or the Nazi atrocities at Lidice and Oradour-sur-Glane are examples of officially-orchestrated collective punishment. Pogroms may be considered examples of unofficial collective punishment which resemble rioting.

Recent use

In recent history, supporters of the Palestinians use the term to refer to certain Israeli actions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. They use the term most often to describe the declared former policy of Israel to destroy the homes of terrorists as a means of deterrence [link], as terrorists' family members were also affected by such actions. [link] [link]. Likewise, Israel tightening of borders to prevent terrorist attacks is viewed by Palestinians, who depend on the free flow of labor and capital^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}, as a form of economic collective punishment.

Supporters of Israel charge that Palestinians and their supporters use the term "collective punishment" as an unjustified anti-Israel code word and/or power word, citing [link] the use of the term to describe even conventional methods of warfare[link] [link] [link]. They also argue that Palestinian targeting of Israeli civilians to address Palestinian complaints with the Israeli government constitutes an Palestinian policy of collective punishment of Israelis.

The term is also used to describe confiscation of assets connected with drug use and trafficking in the United States^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}. More recently the US army has been accused of practicing collection punishment in Iraq [link].

See also

• Collective responsibility (doctrine)
• Article 33 of the fourth Geneva Convention specifically forbids collective punishment

References