> Iraq: Coalition Attack on TV Station May Be Unlawful
>
> (New York, March 26, 2003) – Iraqi TV may not be targeted solely because
> it is being used for propaganda purposes, Human Rights Watch said
> today. The U.S. military command in Qatar announced that on March 26,
> coalition forces attacked Iraq’s main TV station in Baghdad. The United
> States said that the attack was intended to damage Iraq’s
> “command-and-control assets."
>
> Under international humanitarian law (the laws of war), armed attacks on
> civilian TV or radio stations are prohibited if they are designed
> primarily to undermine civilian morale or to psychologically harass the
> civilian population. Although stopping enemy propaganda may serve to
> demoralize the Iraqi population and to undermine the government's
> political support, neither purpose offers the "concrete and direct"
> military advantage necessary under international law to make civilian
> broadcast facilities a legitimate military target.
>
> “Television stations cannot be attacked just because they are used for
> propaganda purposes,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human
> Rights Watch. “The United States needs to explain why the attack
> against Iraqi TV served a military purpose.”
>
> That Iraqi TV was used to display American prisoners of war, in
> violation of the Geneva Conventions, does not make it a legitimate
> military target. Such a violation does not offer a concrete and direct
> advantage to the Iraqi military.
>
> Civilian TV and radio stations are only legitimate targets if they
> become military objectives, that is, if they are used in a way that
> makes an "effective contribution to military action” and their
> destruction in the circumstances ruling at the time offers “a definite
> military advantage." Civilian stations could become military targets if,
> for example, they are used to broadcast military communications or if
> they are otherwise used concretely to advance a military campaign.
>
> In addition, should stations become military objectives, the principle
> of proportionality in attack must be scrupulously respected. This means
> that planners and military commanders should verify at all times that
> the risks involved to the civilian population in undertaking such
> attacks do not outweigh the perceived military benefit. Special
> precautions should be taken in relation to buildings located in urban
> areas. Advance warning of an attack must be given whenever possible.
>
> To read more on War in Iraq, please see:
> <http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/iraq/>
>
>