Current Affair 1:

What is the ‘Geneva Convention’ that lays down the rules of a War?

 

Since the Russia-Ukraine conflict and its tragic consequences are in news lately, in this article, we try to shed light on some of the issues surrounding international law in situations of war/armed conflicts.

‘Rules of War’:

It is often perceived that wars have no rules. But ‘Wars do have rules’. These rules are mostly on the conduct or the operational modalities of the war rather than the reasons to resort to war itself. There are serious disagreements on ‘who’ has the authority to enforce or interpret these rules. Despite all these disagreements, there is a consensus that wars must be governed and adequate limits of conduct during the war must be enforced.

The impetus of formation of rule came with the establishment of the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC; formerly Known as Committee of Five) in 1863 at Geneva. This paved the way for the creation and successful adoption of the Geneva Convention – a comprehensive document addressing different aspects of the war.

Geneva Convention:

The Geneva conventions were adopted in 1949, with two additional protocols adopted in 1977 to supplement these conventions and the third protocol in 2005. The four conventions of 1949 are:

The First Convention:

Convention for the Amelioration of the condition of the wounded and sick in Armed Forces in the field.

It protects the soldiers who are hors de combat (Out of the battle).

The Second Convention:

Convention for the Amelioration of the condition of the wounded, sick, and shipwrecked members of armed forces at sea.

It is the same as the first convention but at sea. It protects the wounded and sick combatants while on a ship or at sea.

The Third Convention:

Convention for the Treatment of Prisoners of War (PoWs).

It sets the rules that provide for humane treatment of the PoWs including their criminal trial.

The Fourth Convention:

Convention for the protection of Civilians during the time of war.

It includes citizens from the areas of occupied territories or armed conflicts.

In addition to these, there are two protocols that supplement the above four conventions.

Additional Protocol 1 of 1977 extends the protection for military and civilian medical workers as well as the civilian population in international armed conflicts. It also provides for the establishment of a fact-finding commission for alleged non-compliances.

Additional Protocol 2 of 1977 extends the protection to the victims involved in non-international conflicts. It does not apply to riots & conflicts that are internal in nature. It prohibits torture, taking of hostages, rape, & any other form that outrage personal dignity.

Additional Protocol 3 of 2005 relates to the adoption of an additional distinctive emblem: the red crystal.

Support for Geneva Convention: India

India is the 5th country in the world to ratify the Geneva Convention in 1960. India is also the first country in the region to adopt this convention. However, India did not ratify the additional protocols 1 and 2 of 1977, but it ratified the third protocol of 2005. In response to a question in parliament in 2019, the government informed that no decision has not yet been taken to ratify protocols 1 and 2.

State Party: A party to a treaty is a state with treaty-making capacity that has expressed its consent to be bound by the treaty by means of accession, approval, or ratification where that treaty entered into force.

State Signatory: It is a state that expresses its willingness to be bound by such a treaty without any need for approval, ratification, or accession.

Current Affair 2:

What are 'Microfinance Loans'?

 

(As per the new direction issued by RBI yesterday)

This is applicable to all commercial banks (except payment banks), cooperative banks and NBFCs

 

A microfinance loan is defined as a collateral-free loan given to a household having annual household income up to ₹3,00,000. For this purpose, the household shall mean an individual family unit, i.e., husband, wife and their unmarried children.

All collateral-free loans, irrespective of end use and mode (either through physical or digital channels), provided to low-income households, i.e., households having annual income up to ₹3,00,000, shall be considered as microfinance loans.

The Banks/NBFCs should clearly mention a ceiling on the interest rate and all other charges applicable to the microfinance loans. Banks/NBFCs should separate the components of the interest rate such as cost of funds, risk premium and margin, etc. based on objective parameters. Interest rates and other charges/ fees on microfinance loans should not be usurious. These shall be subjected to supervisory scrutiny by the Reserve Bank.

So, as such RBI is not fixing the interest rate on microfinance loan but is giving clear guidelines how to do it and put a cap/ceiling.

Microfinance (micro + finance) is provision of financial services to poor and low-income households. These financial services include small loans/credit, savings, insurance, funds transfer/remittance facilities etc.

 

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