Senegal
Practice Relating to Rule 96. Hostage-Taking
Senegal’s IHL Manual (1999) restates common Article 3 of the 1949 Geneva Conventions and prohibits the taking of hostages.
Senegal’s Penal Code (1965), as amended in 2007, states:
[a)] Any of the following acts constitutes a war crime if it concerns members of the armed forces, the wounded, sick or shipwrecked, prisoners of war or civilians or objects protected by the provisions of the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949:
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7. taking of hostages;
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c) in case of an armed conflict not of an international character, serious violations of Article 3 common to the four Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, namely, any of the following acts committed against persons taking no direct part in hostilities, including members of the armed forces who have laid down their arms and persons placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention or any other cause [also constitute war crimes]:
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3. taking of hostages.