Fri. Mar 29th, 2024
Rising death toll in Ukraine: experts suspects war crimesImage Credits: REUTERS

What are war crimes?

Is war crime different from crime against humanity?

Can individuals be held accountable for the actions of a state or its military?

Recent times have made the layman acquainted with the term “war crimes,” taking place in different regions of the world that are beset by conflict or war.

Whether it be conflicts in Ethiopia in the Tigray region, Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen, Iraq, or currently Ukraine, regardless of the causes of the conflict or war, the outcome is the same: civilians bear the brunt of war.

International Humanitarian Law (IHL) considers war crimes and crimes against humanity as the gravest violations, to the point that perpetrators of these crimes can be prosecuted and punished, regardless of the time elapsed since the crimes were committed.

History

The brutality of war or an armed conflict was undeniable decades ago but generally accepted as the result of war’s unprecedented effects. As the notion of ‘everything is fair in love and war’ prevails, the brutality of hostile armed forces, commanders, and politicians was justified as part of aggression and conflict.

With time, although the idea was vaguely pondered, certain behaviors were prohibited in an armed conflict. Thus, there was no structured approach to dealing with the unnecessary evil of war, nor any universal agreement that would make violators accountable.

The series of events that happened during the Second World War led to the awakening consciousness of world leaders, and therefore, the concept of war crimes developed in the late 19th century and early 20th century.

Commence with the Hague Conventions adopted in 1899 and 1907, which prohibited certain means and methods of warfare.

Moreover, the Geneva Conventions of 1864 and other subsequent Geneva Conventions, particularly the four Geneva Conventions of 1949, focus on the protection of individuals who are not or are no longer participating in hostilities.

The 1949 Geneva Convention

According to Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, war crimes are defined as “willful killing, torture, or inhuman treatment, including… willfully causing extreme suffering or serious injury to body or health, unlawful deportation or transfer or unlawful confinement of a protected person… The taking of hostages and extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and are carried out unlawfully and wantonly.”

The Convention has been ratified by all member nations of the United Nations (UN). However, the Additional Protocols and a few other international humanitarian law treaties have not yet achieved that level of acceptance.

Furthermore, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has broadened the list of violations that constitute war crimes.

For instance, the statute recognizes “compelling a prisoner of war or other protected person to serve in the forces of hostile power” as a war crime.

The ICC has heard several cases of war crimes, such as the Ntaganda Case. In this case, it found that sexual crimes committed by members of armed Congolese groups against members of the same group constituted war crimes.(Aljazeera)

Despite the largely ratified Geneva Conventions, such heinous acts often go unpunished.

As the experts elaborate, this can be attributed to several factors, including a lack of evidence, the difficulty of securing evidence, the inability to prove intentions, and the power politics of the day, as often the victors of the conflict determine the course of post-war justice.

Present scenarios

A few days ago, Ukraine brought a convoy of international journalists to draw attention to mass exhumations in a pine forest, the presence of torture marks on the dead bodies, and the possibility of war crimes. Therefore, the European Union has called for the establishment of a war tribunal to investigate the matter further.

Furthermore, the stench of such willful acts has been coming from the South African region as well.

Earlier this week, UN experts said that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the Ethiopian authorities committed “war crimes and crimes against humanity” in the Tigray region, which was recently in the news as fighting resumed between the Ethiopian government and its allies, forcing back the Tigray authorities that led to terrible violence. (Aljazeera)

According to the first report of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia, created by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), extrajudicial killings and rapes have been committed by the government since fighting resumed in the northern region of Tigray in November 2020.

Whether it is the case of Ukraine, Ethiopia, or Azerbaijan, there is a constant ringing bell of hostilities, war crimes, and crimes against humanity across the globe.

Currently, approximately seven cases are going on in the International Criminal Court.

A war or armed conflict usually entails hostilities, economic destruction, insecurity, intolerance, and the destruction of culture and ethnicity, among other things. It all boils down to only one question: do we really want this, and if so, is the process worthwhile?

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