Reprisals against Prisoners and Detainees: Denial of Quarter

Aggressors may declare in advance that no quarter will be given: the order to take no prisoners turns every engagement into extermination. The prohibition is explicit: "it is especially forbidden... to declare that no quarter will be given" (Hague Regulations, Article 23(d)); "declaring that no quarter will be given" is a war crime (Rome Statute, Article 8(2)(b)(xii); customary Rule 46 of the ICRC study).

ID: T0162.001
Sub-technique of:  T0162
Contributors: decolonial.ist project
Version: 1.0
Created: 6 August 2026
Last Modified: 6 August 2026