Ladies and gentlemen

In war, the law is silent.

I start with these words from the roman legislator Marcus Tullus Cicero, spoken more than two thousand years ago. I do so because the horrors of wars in the last decades have made it clear that Cicero's approach would lead us to the ultimate catastrophe. And I do so to remind us all that we have a special responsibility to protect the individual in all aspects of human relations.

Not only is the destructive potential of modern weaponry so overwhelming that we need rules governing warfare. Also the evil within human nature showes its fatal and ugly face when given the opportunity. Without Law of Armed Conflict, respect for Human Rights, binding commitments by goverments and individuals, watchful eyes of organizations and the tools to prosecute and punish, law and moral will indeed be silent in war. Without a high standard of moral integrity for officers and men, including the skill to pass moral judgements, atrocities committed during armed conflicts will continue.

As political leaders we have to undertake the task to seek peaceful solutions. When peace does not prevail, we have to protect human beings from being jailed, tortured or killed at random. As legislators we must keep human rights at the forefront of international affairs and to give meaning and effect to the human rights values enshrined in international human rights treaties and conventions. In conflicts we must ensure that all necessary means are taken to wage war according to treaties and customary law.

To understand decency in warfare, one has to be trained in ethical thinking. Ethics are standards by which one should act based on values. Values are core beliefs such as duty, honor, and integrity that motivate attitudes and actions.

Ethical values relate to what is right and wrong and thus take precedence over nonethical values when making ethical decisions. Every soldier should be given the necessary education of military ethics and carefully consider ethical values when making decisions as part of his or her duties.

There are basic rules or code of honor in western military establishments. Being faithful to one’s convictions is part of integrity. Following principles, acting with honor, maintaining independent judgment, and performing duties with impartiality help to maintain integrity and avoid conflicts of interest.

To all, loyalty is a core value. Loyalty is the bond that holds the nation and the Federal Government together and the balm against dissension and conflict. Loyalty should not, however, be blind obedience or unquestioning acceptance of the status quo. Loyalty requires careful balancing among various interests, values, and institutions in the interest of harmony and cohesion. Fidelity, faithfulness, allegiance, and devotion are all synonyms for loyalty.

Decent warfare means that soldiers are required to accept responsibility for their decisions and the resulting consequences. This includes avoiding even the appearance of impropriety. Decent warfare should also include caring. Caring for those caught in the middle of the conflict, and respect for your enemy. To treat people with dignity, whoever they are.

Both combat operations and peacekeeping operations can put the moral integrity of a soldier under pressure. This, in turn may lead to unethical behaviour, war crimes or a lack of understanding for humanitarian considerations. The key-issue is the need of members of the military to retain a measure of integrity and humanity which transcends a world of hatred and bloodshed.

It remains striking that individuals, who have never met and who have no personal hatred towards each other, can change their opinion so rapidly that they become eager to slay each other within a matter of days. Its been said one can be amazed by “the human capacity to see others as things to be destroyed or damaged, once the society they are part of so defines them.”

We see and read about this phenomenon daily. We see ordinary young men and women who possess no lust for murder, turning into something else. We see on television how they describe their joy when killing their enemies.

There is no reason for the military in democratic countries to sit back and think that war crimes are only committed in far away countries where there is no tradition of respect for human rights. The question has been asked whether ‘ordinary people’ who have no previous record of violence and criminality and who have been brought up in a democratic tradition, can commit war crimes?

The disturbing answer to that question is: yes.

There is always a danger that the environment in which the military operates poses a severe threat to consistent moral behaviour during peacekeeping operations and during combat. Consequently, a high standard of moral integrity for officers and men is essential, including the skill to pass moral judgements. Even if the perfect moral judgement will never be reached, it is possible to train our men and women in uniform to pass moral judgements which are both balanced, courageous and, where possible, magnanimous. There exists a strong chance that an individual will uphold moral values if those values are not perceived as a varnish which has no deep root in personal convictions, but when those values have become, as a result of moral education, a part of his sense of personal identity.

Amid the literally tens of thousands of stories of atrocities committed during armed conflict, there are few stories of magnanimity and humanity. But they do exist. Consequently, there is a strong need for knowledge and skill in the fields of military ethics and the laws of war in order to reduce the atrocities to a minimum.

I am grateful that you have taken upon yourself to emphasise the need for the moral education, including ethical decision-making skills to members of military communities.