Once all this has been shown it would have to be demonstrated to the Court that the accused conducted himself in such a manner as to become entitled to the benefits conferred by Protocol I on combatants, for example that, broadly speaking, he had, while he was launching an attack, distinguished himself from civilians and had not attacked civilian targets. If it has been so incorporated it would have to be proved by one or other of the parties that the turmoil which existed at the time when the accused is alleged to have committed his offences was such that it could properly be described as an “armed conflict” conducted by “peoples” against a “raist regime” in the exercise of their “right of self-determination”. If so, it is argued that it would have been incorporated into South African law. Nevertheless, I am asked to decide, as I indicated earlier, as a preliminary point, whether Protocol I has become part of customary international law.
![port royale 2 neutral after war port royale 2 neutral after war](https://img.gurugamer.com/resize/740x-/2019/08/23/port-royale-810x400-9618.jpg)
South Africa is one of the countries which has not acceded to Protocol I. In that war the definition of a military target became overextended and were also applied to telecommunications centres, steel factories, power stations, strategic installations and more. These questions intensified during World War II, when air forces were involved in the extensive bombing of infrastructure. Discussions regarding the distinction between military and non-military targets, and how far it might possible to stretch the limits are very extensive in the modern era. For example, a factory that produces steel and that is used to built tanks, and a factory that produces the raw materials used in the production of gunpowder. However, in between these two extremes lie a whole spectrum of examples that are less clear-cut. A clear military target is, for example, an enemy position and a clear civilian target is a playground.
![port royale 2 neutral after war port royale 2 neutral after war](https://images.gog-statics.com/a7bc06c670b641a9ae11a93af95384b3f1eeb9cea05f04317d6aaed30fa8d179_product_card_v2_mobile_slider_639.jpg)
A soldier is an obvious military target, while a little girl playing on the swings in the playground is certainly not.