Collective punishment
Collective punishment is a term describing the punishment of a group of people for the crime 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 their individual circumstances — as they relate to 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 collective punishment.
In recent history, the term has been used most often to refer to certain Israeli actions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In this context, the term is most often associated with the declared (former) policy of Israel to destroy terrorists' homes as a means of deterrence [1] [2] [3]. This was felt by activists for Palestinian rights to be a means of collective punishment, as unrelated members of the public, including children, were also killed by such actions. Likewise, while supporters of Israel feel that tightening of borders to prevent terrorist attacks is within the state's rights, those in opposition feel that this is a form of economic collective punishment of Palestinians who depend on the free flow of labor and capital[citation needed]. The use of collective punishment by the USA and Israel are well documented. Burning entire villages in Vietnam and house demolitions by military means in the occupied palestinian territories are not only collective punishments, but attempts at forced changing of ethnical standing, which is clearly illegal under UN charters.
The term is also used to describe confiscation of assets connected with drug use and trafficking in the United States[citation needed].
See also
- Collective responsibility (doctrine)
- Article 33 of the fourth Geneva Convention specifically forbids collective punishment