War Crimes

War Crimes

Introduction

In this paper, we will have a discussion on the concept of war crimes, its origin and its importance in today's world.

Discuss the evolution of the war crimes concept. What was the impact of the end of the cold war and the tragedies of Bosnia and Rwanda on that evolution?

War crimes are violations of international law, in which the war leader from the different parties are committed or are associated with the war effort. Crimes that are only in temporal or local connection with combat operations are not referred to as a war crime.

In response to war crimes in World War II, there was the international law codified by international agreements and created new legal standards. The war crimes are the violations of the laws of war or customs. Such violations include murder, ill-treatment or deportation, devastation of towns or villages or wanton destruction of cities.

The project of War Crimes was established with the aim of educating the media, influential commentators and the general public about the laws that govern the evolution of armed conflict, in the belief that this knowledge saves lives. The permanent state of war now inflicts more violence and suffering to those who do not take part in the fighting. These are not acceptable effects of the war; but these are war crimes such as the violations of international standards of civilized behavior (Robert, 2007).

International Humanitarian Law, which is also applied in many civil and internal disputes, can help the public make sense of very confused situations, and orientation about what is considered right and wrong in war, in accordance with legal criteria. The challenge now is to put the facts in a framework that makes them understandable. The international humanitarian law differentiates the legal from what is criminal in case of armed conflict.

The international humanitarian law is universally applicable and ratified, had a small success during the years of the Cold War. However, they have taken their own vitality and importance in the years following it. This is due in part to the fact that the terrible atrocities in Bosnia and Rwanda called for a day of reckoning, a judicial evaluation, and international humanitarian law. In addition, the values ??they encoded are now recognized as essential elements to replace a culture of impunity with a culture of accountability. This is very well demonstrated by numerous efforts around the world, including tribunals, truth commissions, and attempts to establish a permanent international criminal court to bring those to justice who commit war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is permanently established to prosecute war crimes. It is a product of war crime since it has been charged with trying the people who are responsible for crimes and not states or organizations. Hence, the legitimacy of the ICC is questioned by some states or governments. The ICC has supranational jurisdiction which can try individuals (not states) who are responsible for war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity, and the ...