You war crimes are violations of the rules that regulate conflicts in international law. These rules were established through important documents such as the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute, and its creation took place with the aim of reducing human suffering in places where conflict.
Among the war crimes that can be mentioned based on these documents are: any type of attack against civilians; torture; forced deportation; the taking of hostages; the inhumane treatment of prisoners of war, among others. Conflicts that recorded war crimes were the Second World War and the Vietnam War, for example.
Read too: What is a crime against humanity?
Topics in this article
- 1 - Summary of war crime
- 2 - What are war crimes?
- 3 - What are war crimes?
- 4 - How are war crimes judged?
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5 - What are the international laws that regulate war?
- Geneva Convention
- 6 - What were the biggest war crimes?
War crime summary
War crimes are violations that occur against the rules that govern conflicts in international law.
These rules were established through the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute, important documents.
Under the Rome Statute, war crimes are punished by the International Criminal Court.
This punishment, however, only happens to individuals from countries that have ratified the Rome Statute.
Conflicts that recorded war crimes were the Second World War, the War in Afghanistan, the Syrian Civil War, among others.
War crimes include: attacks against civilians, looting of cities, taking hostages, rape, etc.
What are war crimes?
In international law, war crimes are understood to be the violations of internationally adopted norms governing a conflict.International law establishes standards that must be followed in war, in order to reduce human suffering in a conflict. In this sense, any violation of the rules that govern conflicts is understood as a war crime.
You documents that are the international bases for conflict regulation are the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute. These two documents are a fundamental part of the limits established for violations in war, dealing with a series of issues. Both form a legal framework that is used to investigate and prosecute potential war crimes.
Using the Rome Statute as a basis, war crimes are understood as:
Serious violations of the Geneva Conventions of August 12, 1949.
Other serious violations of the laws and customs applicable in international armed conflicts under international law.
In the event of an armed conflict that is not of an international nature, serious violations of article 3, common to the four Geneva Conventions, of August 12, 1949.
Other serious violations of laws and customs applicable to armed conflicts that do not have an international character, within the framework of international law.
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What are war crimes?
In this sense, we can mention, based on the Rome Statute, that the following actions are considered war crimes:
intentional homicide;
torture and biological experiments;
destruction of property without military necessity;
depriving a prisoner of war of a fair and impartial trial;
illegal deportation or transfer;
hostage taking;
attack against civilians;
attack against religious and cultural buildings without military purposes;
seizure of other people's property without military necessity;
abolish national and international rights of the invaded location;
plunder cities;
use chemical weapons;
use poisons;
violating human dignity through inhumane treatment;
rape and sexual crimes etc.
Based on this, we can conclude that war crimes are all military actions affecting civilians, prohibited by international law. Furthermore, military actions must respect the dictates of international law. Therefore, on the battlefield there can also be violations and the commission of war crimes.
Read too: Siege of Leningrad — the Nazi operation that aimed to exterminate the Russian population by starvation
How are war crimes prosecuted?
War crimes are matters of the International Criminal Court (ICC), popularly known as the Hague Court, as it is located in The Hague, in the Netherlands. This court was created through the Rome Statute in 1998, but only came into force in 2002.
Its purpose is to prosecute individuals who commit the following infractions under international law:
genocide crimes;
crimes against humanity;
assault crimes;
war crimes.
An important point to consider is that The International Criminal Court only has jurisdiction to investigate and indict individuals from countries that have ratified the Rome Statute. This court cannot violate the sovereignty of a country and can only act when it is identified that there has been flagrant impunity.
Furthermore, the action of the International Criminal Court limited to individuals who committed war crimes. It is not the role of this court to judge States on these issues, as this is a matter for the International Court of Justice (ICJ). In the latter case, it is also necessary for the country to be a member of the ICJ for there to be any judicial accountability.
As a last resort, there may be interference of the UN Security Council for there to be an investigation, a trial and a possible punishment for an individual or State that committed a war crime; but again, the sovereignty of the country involved cannot be violated. Ultimately, if the Judiciary of the country involved does not act, there may be impunity.
What are the international laws that regulate war?
The laws that regulate wars in international law are the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute. In the case of the Rome Statute, its creation took place in 1998 as part of the founding of the Criminal Court International, created to act permanently and independently in order to prevent and judge crimes international.
The creation of the Rome Statute and the ICC was the result of international cooperation for this body to exist, and this was a need that was established in the end of the Second World War. Currently, there are 123 countries that have ratified the Rome Statute and are under the jurisdiction of the ICC. Among the countries absent are the United States, Russia, China and Israel.
Geneva Convention
Another important document that defines war crimes in international law is the Geneva Conventions. The terms drawn up in the conventions were the result of several international treaties that sought to establish laws and limits for international conflicts. The Conventions are part of what we know as dI will Hhumanitarian iinternational.
The treaties contained in this document establish the rights of humanity in conflicts, establishing minimum conditions that must be provided to civilians and military personnel. Although several meetings took place to establish the terms of the Conventions, it was established that the last version was produced in 1949 and that three additional protocols were added later. It was the fourth version (from 1949) that established the terms that determined the protection of civilians.
The Geneva Conventions come into force immediately when a conflict breaks out between two parties who ratified the document and also act when a war takes place exclusively in the territory of a nation (civil war) member of the document.
What were the biggest war crimes?
International humanitarian law, which includes the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute, is the result of an effort international effort to create legislation that prevents indiscriminate violence within international conflicts or national. In this sense, these are the laws that govern war, and their violation results in war crimes. Its elaboration began in the 19th century.
Since this legislation of international law began to be drafted, several war crimes have been carried out in various conflicts. The following can be highlighted:
Allied war crimes during World War II;
Holocaust and other Nazi war crimes during World War II;
war crimes committed by the United States during World War II;
war crimes committed by Japanese troops during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II.
More recently, war crimes that occurred in several conflicts can be mentioned:
war crimes carried out by the Bashar al-Assad government in the Syrian Civil War;
war crimes committed by the Islamic State;
war crimes committed by Israel against Palestinians;
war crimes committed by Saudi Arabia during the Yemen War.
war crimes committed by Russians and Ukrainians in the Ukrainian War, among others.
Sources
FONSECA, José Roberto Franco da. War Crimes. Available in: https://www.revistas.usp.br/rfdusp/article/view/67409
UNITED NATIONS ORGANIZATION. United Nations Charter. Available in: https://www.oas.org/dil/port/1945%20Carta%20das%20Na%C3%A7%C3%B5es%20Unidas.pdf
INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS. The 1949 Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols. Available in: https://www.icrc.org/pt/doc/war-and-law/treaties-customary-law/geneva-conventions/overview-geneva-conventions.htm
PORTUGAL PUBLIC PROSECUTION OFFICE. Convention IV, Geneva Convention relating to the protection of civilians in time of war, of 12 August 1949. Available in: https://gddc.ministeriopublico.pt/sites/default/files/documentos/instrumentos/convIVgenebra.pdf
INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT. Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Available in: https://www5.pucsp.br/ecopolitica/documentos/cultura_da_paz/docs/estatuto_roma_tribunal_penal_internacional.pdf
UOL NEWS. Rape of elderly women and torture: what are war crimes and what is the punishment? Available in: https://noticias.uol.com.br/internacional/ultimas-noticias/2022/09/23/estupro-de-idosas-e-tortura-o-que-sao-crimes-de-guerra-e-qual-a-punicao.htm.
BRAZIL AGENCY. Understand what are considered war crimes. Available in: https://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/internacional/noticia/2023-10/entenda-o-que-sao-considerados-crimes-de-guerra.
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