Is the health minister Nicola Roxon a war criminal?

lightning · April 8, 2009

Medicines are "protected items" under the geneva conventions and withholding necessary pain medicines from civilians in a time of war is called cruel treatment and enforced under australian law under Chapter 8 Division 268 of the criminal Code.

The Government has declared the war.

Schedule The Australian Criminal Code 1995

Division 4—Physical elements

4.1 Physical elements

(1) A physical element of an offence may be:

(a) conduct; or

( a result of conduct; or

occurs.

(2) In this Code:

conduct means an act, an omission to perform an act or a state of

affairs.

engage in conduct means:

(a) do an act; or

( omit to perform an act.

4.2 Voluntariness

(1) Conduct can only be a physical element if it is voluntary.

(2) Conduct is only voluntary if it is a product of the will of the person

whose conduct it is.

(3) The following are examples of conduct that is not voluntary:

(a) a spasm, convulsion or other unwilled bodily movement;

( an act performed during sleep or unconsciousness;

the person of the will to act.

(4) An omission to perform an act is only voluntary if the act omitted

is one which the person is capable of performing.

(5) If the conduct constituting an offence consists only of a state of

affairs, the state of affairs is only voluntary if it is one over which

the person is capable of exercising control.

(6) Evidence of self-induced intoxication cannot be considered in

determining whether conduct is voluntary.

4.3 Omissions

An omission to perform an act can only be a physical element if:

(a) the law creating the offence makes it so; or

( the law creating the offence impliedly provides that the

offence is committed by an omission to perform an act that

by law there is a duty to perform.

Chapter 8 Offences against humanity and related offences

Division 268 Genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes against the

administration of the justice of the International Criminal Court 1995

Page 244

Subdivision F—War crimes that are serious violations of article

3 common to the Geneva Conventions and are

committed in the course of an armed conflict that is

not an international armed conflict

268.72 War crime—cruel treatment

(1) A person (the perpetrator) commits an offence if:

(a) the perpetrator inflicts severe physical or mental pain or

suffering upon one or more persons; and

( the person or persons are not taking an active part in the

hostilities; and

circumstances establishing that the person or persons are not

taking an active part in the hostilities; and

(d) the perpetrator's conduct takes place in the context of, and is

associated with, an armed conflict that is not an international

armed conflict.

Penalty: Imprisonment for 25 years.

(2) To avoid doubt, a reference in subsection (1) to a person or persons

who are not taking an active part in the hostilities includes a

reference to:

(a) a person or persons who are hors de combat; or

( civilians, medical personnel or religious personnel who are

not taking an active part in the hostilities.

268.73 War crime—torture

(1) A person (the perpetrator) commits an offence if:

(a) the perpetrator inflicts severe physical or mental pain or

suffering upon one or more persons; and

( the perpetrator inflicts the pain or suffering for the purpose

of:

(i) obtaining information or a confession; or

(ii) a punishment, intimidation or coercion; or

(iii) a reason based on discrimination of any kind; and

hostilities; and

(d) the perpetrator knows of, or is reckless as to, the factual

circumstances establishing that the person or persons are not

taking an active part in the hostilities; and

(e) the perpetrator's conduct takes place in the context of, and is

associated with, an armed conflict that is not an international

armed conflict.

Penalty: Imprisonment for 25 years. �

Federal Narcotic Drugs Act 1967 (This federal law over rides state drug law under s109 of the constitution)

Part I—Preliminary

6 Ministers etc. to have regard to Convention

The Minister for Health, the Minister for Industry, Technology and

Commerce, the Secretary or the CEO shall, in exercising any

power or performing any function conferred on him by this Act,

have regard to the obligations of the Commonwealth under the

Convention and to no other matter.

The preamble to the treaty in reference says

" Recognizing that the medical use of narcotic drugs continues to be indispensable for the relief of pain and suffering and that adequate provision must be made to ensure the availability of narcotic drugs for such purposes,"

The Treaty also states at article 4 General Obligations

1.The Parties shall take such legislative and administrative measures as may be necessary:

a) To give effect to and carry out the provisions of this Convention within their own territories; and

To co-operate with other States in the execution of the provisions of this Convention;

and

c) Subject to the provisions of this Convention, to limit exclusively to medical and scientific purposes the production, manufacture, export, import, distribution of, trade in, use and possession of drugs.

So the government MUST ensure adequate supply of indespensible medical cannabis for the medically needy and to refuse to do so is a breach of the obligations. In time of war, the Occupying authority (the government) has an obligation to allow/provide essential medicines to be supplied to sick and injured civilians and prisoners of war within the theatre of armed conflict and to interfere with those medical supplies or to seize them is a WAR CRIME