Belgium
Practice Relating to Rule 58. Improper Use of the White Flag of Truce
Belgium’s Teaching Manual for Officers (1994) states: “It is prohibited to abuse the protective signs provided for by the [1949 Geneva] Conventions and [the 1977 Additional Protocol I]. Example: camouflaging arms and ammunition in a vehicle or a building flying … the white flag.”
Belgium’s Penal Code (1867), as amended in 2003, provides:
War crimes envisaged in the 1949 [Geneva] Conventions … and in the [1977 Additional Protocols I and II] … , as well as in Article 8(2)(f) of the [1998 ICC Statute], and listed below, … constitute crimes under international law and shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the present title … :
…
30. improper use of the white flag of truce … , when it results in loss of life or serious injury
Belgium’s Law relating to the Repression of Grave Breaches of International Humanitarian Law (1993), as amended in 2003, provides:
War crimes envisaged in the 1949 [Geneva] Conventions … and in the [1977 Additional Protocols I and II] … , as well as in Article 8(2)(f) of the [1998 ICC Statute], and listed below, … constitute crimes under international law and shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the present title … :
…
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bis improper use of the white flag of truce … , when it results in loss of life or serious injury.