Uniform Exceptions and Rights Violations (Report‪)‬

Though the Geneva Conventions and their additional protocols address the proper responsibilities and expectations pertaining to nonuniformed combatants, there is still substantial disagreement on this issue, and rightly so. It is commonly argued that resource disparity or alternative sources of political legitimacy, such as national self-determination or the constitution of a political collective, justify the use of such unconventional warfare. This article contends that nonuniformed combat is impermissible and its practitioners cannot be accorded full combatant rights under the rules of engagement, because of the manner in which this tactic endangers and infringes on the rights of genuine noncombatants. Despite the disadvantages facing resource-poor groups, there are several arguments against allowing nonuniformed combat (and by proxy, the relevant Geneva Conventions passages):