By Brendan Sweeney and Martin Lassen-Vernal
In a controversial new book about the Danish Army’s Special Operations Force, the author, Thomas Rathsack, describes how he and his fellow commandos protected one of their agents on a mission in Afghanistan by dressing up as Afghan civilians. According to the book, the commandos carried weapons in their vehicle and on their person in order to defend themselves.
But such 'undercover' practices are in breach of the Geneva Convention says Jonas Christoffersen, Director of the Institute for Human Rights (DIHR).
According to the rules of war as laid out in the Geneva Convention, a soldier must not kill or wound others under the pretext of being a civilian.
Speaking to the Danish daily, Politiken, Dr Christoffersen explained: “If the information in the book is correct, Danish commandos disguised as civilians were willing to directly violate the Convention by killing or wounding others. We do not know if they actually did this. But according to the book the mission was organized in a manner that would have allowed this, which means that the Danish Defence forces did not respect the Convention.”
Anders Henriksen, a researcher at the Danish Institute for Military Studies, also agrees that the revelation is problematic.
“It is a breach of the Convention if they actively carried out an action such as wounding or killing others while dressed as civilians. If this has occurred then Danish Defence forces are really facing a problem,” he told Politiken.
For further information, please contact Brendan Sweeney at