Canada
Practice Relating to Rule 146. Reprisals against Protected Persons
Section C. Medical and religious personnel in the power of the adversary
Canada’s LOAC Manual (1999), in a section dealing with enforcement measures, provides: “Reprisals are permitted against combatants and against objects constituting military objectives.”
In the same section, the manual states:
Reprisals against the following categories of persons and objects are prohibited:
a. the … medical personnel … protected by [the 1949 Geneva Convention I];
b. the … personnel … protected by [the 1949 Geneva Convention II].
Canada’s LOAC Manual (2001) states in its chapter entitled “Preventative and enforcement measures and the role of protecting powers”:
4. Reprisals against the following categories of persons and objects are prohibited.
a. the wounded, sick, medical personnel, medical buildings or equipment protected by [the 1949 Geneva Convention I];
b. the wounded, sick and shipwrecked persons, the personnel, the vessels and equipment protected by [the 1949 Geneva Convention II];
…
5. Reprisals are permitted against combatants and against objects constituting military objectives.
In 1986, in a memorandum on Canada’s attitude to possible reservations with regard to the 1977 Additional Protocol I, the Canadian Ministry of Defence noted: “The Geneva Conventions of 1949 prohibit reprisals against certain categories of persons such as medical personnel.”