Canada
Practice Relating to Rule 146. Reprisals against Protected Persons
Section E. Civilians in general
Canada’s LOAC Manual (1999) provides: “Reprisals against civilians … are prohibited.”
In a part dealing with enforcement measures, the manual states: “Reprisals against the following categories of persons and objects are prohibited: … e. civilians”.
Canada’s LOAC Manual (2001) states in its chapter on targeting: “Reprisals against civilians and civilian objects are prohibited.”
In its chapter entitled “Preventative and enforcement measures and the role of protecting powers”, the manual states:
4. Reprisals against the following categories of persons and objects are prohibited.
…
e. civilians;
…
5. Reprisals are permitted against combatants and against objects constituting military objectives.
At the CDDH, the representative of Canada, with respect to paragraph 4 of draft Article 46 (which became Article 51 of the 1977 Additional Protocol I), stated that “his delegation could accept a prohibition on reprisals against civilians or the civilian population”.
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:
Under [the 1949 Geneva Conventions] … reprisals directed against the enemy civilian population or property in enemy controlled areas are permissible. [The 1977 Additional Protocol I] goes beyond the Geneva Conventions and prohibits reprisals directed against the enemy civilian population or civilian property under all circumstances.