Rules of war: video activity

Introduce learners to the rules of war with a short animated video activity.

Raising awareness: Rules of war

  1. Download and cut up the series of eight image stills (3a. video activity –still frames.pdf)from the short animation Rules of war (in a nutshell) produced by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). There are two ways you might use these cards:
  2. Use a single set of the rules of war stills and give one card to each group of learners. Inform them that each image illustrates a rule of war. Ask them to discuss their image and think about what rule of war it might be depicting. Each group can then feed back their ideas to the wider group. Encourage any additional ideas in whole group discussion of each image.
  3. Use multiple sets of the rules of war stills and give a full set to each group (4-6 learners) for them to look at. Ask them to consider the images and what rules of war each may depict. Coming back together as a whole group, take each image and invite feedback as to the relevant rule.

[Note: at this point the important thing is to get learners curious about the rules of war and creative and critical in their thinking and questioning. ‘Right answers’are not therefore important at this stage and learners should be encouraged to think openly without the fear of being wrong.]

Video resource: Rules of war (in a nutshell)

  1. Explain to learners that you will now introduce them to the rules of war through a short animation that their still images were taken from. They should watch the animation and listen carefully to the dialogue to discover what was being depicted in the still frames from 1 above. [Note: you may want to show the animation twice through as learners may be too focused on the answers to the previous challenge to take in all of the information.]

To check their basic understanding ask learners to use the information from the animation to write a caption for the still frames they had in activity 1 above. Once done these could be used as the basis of a display about the basic rules of war.

  1. To develop a deeper understanding of the rules of war, this next activity uses the animation but suggests pauses at key times in the animation and short discussions or related tasks at each break. [You may wish to familiarize yourself with the animation and the pause points before doing this with learners. This can make it easier for you to find the right points, but also to become more familiar with the content and the possible responses from learners.]

A suggested learning journey through Rules of war (in a nutshell).

Time point
(to pause) / Discussion points or activity prompts (select as appropriate)
[following some prompts, hints are given to support delivery]
0.14 /
  • Is it only humans that sometimes resort to violence to settle disagreements? [think about animals that spar/fight over perhaps food, mates or territory.]
  • Why might disagreements between humans be particularly violent? [humans have developed tools, weapons and technology that allow greater violence.]
  • How might disagreements be settled in non-violent ways? [dialogue, negotiation, compromise, court and judicial forums, and agreements may help to avoid violence for example.]
  • What causes violence to be used in place of non-violence? [this could be many things including unequal power, hatred, extremism, inability to communicate , discontent with government, weak state security, socially and/or legally acceptable to use violence, no alternative way to resolve the problem etc.]
  • Is violence ever the only way to settle something?

0.22 /
  • Why does the man with his arms out get in the way? [it would appear to protect those behind him –his family perhaps. To try and prevent violence]
  • What do you think you might do in his situation?
  • How effective do you think such actions are?

0.36 / The animation introduces two important things:
-The Geneva Conventions
-International Humanitarian Law (IHL)
IHL is a body of law. The Geneva Conventions are treaties that are the cornerstone of IHL. IHL also includes other international treaties and customary IHL (i.e. rules that come from a general practice accepted as law and exist independent of treaty law)
0.55 /
  • Who might be included in those not fighting during a conflict? [Civilians, humanitarian workers, military medical personnel, religious personnel, detainees and journalists]
  • What might be the challenges for protecting those not fighting? [Examples might include knowing who they are and where they are. It may also be challenging in the confusion of war.]
  • Why do you think the rules of war offer protection to fighters (combatants) who are no longer able to fight, or no longer want to? [If they are no longer able to fight then they may be in need. If they don’t want to fight then they are no longer a threat. IHL seeks to limit the effects of armed conflict so only persons taking a direct part in hostilitiesmay be attacked. ]
  • The idea of ‘distinction’is very important to the rules of war, but this can sometimes be difficult to do in reality. Use a simple two circle Venn diagram to explore this further. One circle is for those not fighting (‘non combatants’) and the other is for those fighting (‘combatants’). List the things that might help you to make the distinction. If some things are not clear then put them in the overlapping section of the circles. [Combatants may be identified by a presence of weapons or perhaps by their uniform. Non-combatants may be identified by their lack of weapons or uniform. But some combatants may not wear uniforms so it is more complicated.]

1.37 /
  • Why do you think the rules of war extend to protecting the things that civilians need or rely on for their day-to-day life? [Humanitarian principle –it is humane to do so; ensuring respect for human dignity]
  • Write or illustrate a list of the things that this might include. [Food, water, medicine, hygiene aids, clothes, emergency building materials, educational materials, materials for civilians to follow their religions, emotional support, communications such as phone lines.]

1.45 /
  • What things might civilians need that are harder to get access to during times of conflict? [Examples might include medicine, water, clothing and food. This could be because supplies are blocked by fighting or because less is being produced because of conflict.]
  • How are the International Committee of the Red Cross and National Societies able to help with this? [Asneutral organisations theyare able to try and get essential supplies and services to those affected by conflict.]

2.35 /
  • How do the rules of war ensure that everyone (even prisoners) is treated humanely? What examples of humane treatment can you identify? [Food, water, communication with loved ones (family, friends etc), protection from torture. These help to ensure peopleare treated with dignity.]

3.20 /
  • Why is neutrality (not taking sides) so important in allowing the ICRC and National Societies to bring humanitarian aid to those who need it during conflict? [In order to enjoy the confidence of all, the Movement may not take sides in hostilities or engage at any time in controversies of a political, racial, religious or ideological nature. Only where there is confidence (of the authorities and the population) can the Movement have unimpeded access to conflict victims and obtain the necessary support for their protection and assistance activities.]
  • What does impartiality mean and why is it important during a conflict?
[It means people are helped based on their need]
  • Who needs to know about the rules of war in order to ensure that they are kept to at times of conflict? [All those involved in a conflict need to know, but especially those in command.]
  • What could happen if people did not know about the rules of war? [They could cause more harm than is allowed and in the worst case they could commit war crimes. Additionally the public knowing about the rules means that combatants, governments and other parties to conflict can be held to account for their actions.]

3.46 /
  • The rules of war are reviewed and develop over time. Why might it be important that this happens? [As technology changes new weapons mean new rules may be needed, and each war may present new issues.]
  • What new ‘rules’might be needed or how might existing rules need to be changed or amended? [the possible inclusion of robots in armed forces may require new laws, such as checks of the robots’capability to keep to the existing rules –perhaps only allowed if proof that the robot can make distinctions?]

4.07 /
  • Technology is constantly changing warfare in an effort to reduce the number of civilian (and military) casualties. Smart bombs, drones, intelligent robots are all part of this. What might be the challenge as far as rules of war are concerned of technology playing a greater role in international conflict? [e.g. does using technology depersonalize and desensitize people to the real human costs of war? E.g. using a drone to attack means that individuals may be more removed from the consequences of their actions.
  • How might technology (not just military technology) help to uphold the rules of war? [Communications technology e.g. smartphones can transmit information about violations of IHL and thus raise awareness of the problem in the international community; monitoring of conduct can happen using satellites and drones also.]

4.35 /
  • War and humanitarianism may not seem to be closely related at first. Can you explain how the rules of war are an important contribution to humanitarianism and how they relate to the work of the Movement in seeking to help those affected by armed conflict? [Answers might include those presented in film: preservation of dignity, ensuring some kind of life can continue for civilians throughout wars, and offering chances to rebuild after war ends.]

Presentation activity

  1. Use theRules of war (in a nutshell) animation as the basis of a presentation (i.e. a school assembly or to a youth group). This could be done in several ways, all designed to help learners ‘fix’ their understanding through presenting it back to their peers:
  1. Take the still frames used in activity 1 and available as Powerpoint slides and use these for learners to narrate a presentation.
  1. Use the whole animation with the sound turned off in a similar way, but with learners writing their own narration for the animation and presenting it alongside the film.
  1. Use the animation as the inspiration for a short drama depicting the rules of war for an audience of peers. Learners can take on the roles of the characters in the film and a narrator can help to explain the rules of war.