Idlib, Syria. Not only is there no desire to stop the dreadful massacre, but there is no ability either (Photo: AFP)
Never again, many people thought after World War II. The mass and unnecessary slaughter, including the horrors of the Holocaust, encouraged the international community to create news rules for the game. One result was the Fourth Geneva Convention, which was aimed at protecting civilian populations. The murderous bombing in the Syrian town of Idlibâa chemical weapons attackâreminds us that there is a lot of talk but no action. What happened will happen again, and it will be even worse.
For a moment, it seemed as though a new, more ethical and more decent world was being created. Some 17 million people were killed in World War I, and about 40 percent of them were civilians. Some 64 million were killed in World War II, and about 60 percent of them were civilians. Never again, the international community hoped, and phrased the Geneva Convention.