Democracies have long known that extreme and indiscriminate punishment – which by definition affects friend and foe, combatant and civilian alike – is a grave violation of international law, as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, has pointed out. They also know that such action fuels radicalism, leading to the kind of tragic consequences that are all too familiar nowadays.
正如联合国人权委员会高级专员Louise Arbour所指出的，民主国家长久以来就明白极端和不分皂白的惩罚—就定义而言，对敌方和友方，对战士和平民都有同样的影响—是对国际法的严重侵犯。民主国家也知道这样的行动会助长激进主义，导致那种我们今天都再熟悉不过的悲剧性后果。