Legal Definitions - War crime

A war crime is a serious violation of the international laws that govern how armed conflicts should be conducted. These laws, often referred to as international humanitarian law or the "laws of war," are designed to limit the brutality of conflict and protect those not participating in hostilities.

The concept of war crimes is primarily defined and codified in international agreements such as the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. For an act to be considered a war crime, it must occur within the context of an armed conflict, and the perpetrator must be aware of this conflict.

War crimes typically involve grave breaches of these laws, targeting individuals or objects that are protected during wartime. These protected categories include:

• Civilians: Non-combatants who are not taking a direct part in hostilities.
• Prisoners of War (POWs): Captured enemy combatants who have surrendered.
• Wounded or Sick Soldiers: Combatants who are no longer able to fight.
• Humanitarian Aid Workers and Peacekeepers: Personnel providing assistance or maintaining peace.
• Civilian Objects: Such as hospitals, schools, cultural sites, and residential areas, unless they are being used for military purposes.

Specific acts considered war crimes include, but are not limited to:

• Intentionally killing or causing serious injury to protected persons.
• Torture, inhumane treatment, or biological experiments.
• Sexual violence, including rape, sexual slavery, or forced pregnancy.
• Taking hostages.
• Targeting civilian populations or non-military objects.
• Pillaging or the unjustified destruction and appropriation of property.
• Using prohibited weapons, such as poison.
• Conscripting or enlisting children under the age of 15 into armed forces or groups.

Not only those who directly commit these acts can be held responsible; military commanders and other superiors can also be prosecuted if they knew or should have known about war crimes being committed by their subordinates and failed to take reasonable measures to prevent or punish them.

Examples of War Crimes:

• Targeting a Civilian Hospital: During an armed conflict, a military commander orders an artillery unit to intentionally shell a clearly marked hospital in an enemy city, despite knowing it is a medical facility and not being used for any military purpose. The attack results in the deaths of patients and medical staff.

  This illustrates a war crime because the hospital is a protected civilian object, and the patients and medical staff are protected persons under international humanitarian law. Intentionally targeting such a facility without military justification is a grave breach of the laws of war.

• Torture of Prisoners of War: After capturing a group of enemy soldiers who have surrendered, a unit of combatants subjects them to severe physical and psychological torture in an attempt to extract information, denying them access to medical care and humane conditions.

  This illustrates a war crime because prisoners of war are protected persons who must be treated humanely. Torture, cruel treatment, and denying basic rights to surrendered combatants are explicitly prohibited and constitute war crimes.

• Forced Recruitment of Child Soldiers and Pillage: A non-state armed group operating in a conflict zone systematically raids villages, forcibly abducting children under the age of 15 and compelling them to serve as fighters or support personnel. During these raids, the group also extensively loots homes, businesses, and cultural sites, taking valuables and destroying property without military necessity.

  This illustrates war crimes because the forced recruitment of child soldiers is a severe violation of international law protecting children in armed conflict. Additionally, widespread pillaging and destruction of civilian property, not justified by military necessity, are also prohibited acts under the laws of war.