Protecting the Dead Bodies under International Humanitarian Law and Islamic Views

Abstract

International humanitarian law has provided numerous protections for respectful behavior with the dead bodies of the wars. These protections begin with the obligation to seek the missing and continue until the respectful burying of the bodies. In addition to the problems associated with the implementation of these regulations, the humanitarian law system is grappled with deficiency in criminalization of certain behaviors against bodies such as unauthorized exhumation, obstacles to the identification of bodies and uncared for them on the battlefield. Since the source of many humanitarian protective laws related to the bodies is the teachings of divine religions, in this article, the protection of bodies in the context of sources of Islamic jurisprudence has been studied. Respect for human personality after death, necessity of the urgent burial of corpses, and the prohibition of the amputation of the dead bodies in the war as a religious duty are highlighted in the traditions of the Infallibles (Ma'soumin) and the views of Muslim jurisprudents. Although burying with special Islamic rituals, in accordance with the pivotal role of faith and belief in Tawhid and Resurrection (Ma'ad) in the Islamic worldview is devoted to the bodies of Muslims, but based on the standards of Islamic jurisprudence regarding the secondary decrees, the necessity of burial is extended to all dead bodies of the war. Along with health considerations and the significance of exchanging the corpses and consequently the necessity to keep and bury them, currently, Muslim governments are obliged to complying with these protections through international humanitarian documents.

Keywords

• dead bodies
• international humanitarian law (ihl)
• geneva conventions
• protection