Russia and 'War Crimes'

~Preet


What is ICC? Could it bring Putin to justice over Russia's invasion of Ukraine?

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has stated that it will launch an inquiry into suspected Russian war crimes in Ukraine. War crimes are subject to strict international norms. 

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is a permanent judicial entity established by the 1998 Rome Statute of the ICC (its foundation and governing text), which went into effect on July 1, 2002. Its headquarters are in The Hague, Netherlands. The Rome Statute has 123 States Parties who recognise the ICC's authority. The United States, China, Russia, and India are not members. The forum was created as a last-resort court to pursue crimes that would otherwise go unpunished. It is responsible for four major crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and aggression. 

War crimes are major violations of humanitarian law committed during a conflict. The concept set by the ICC's Rome Statute is based on the 1949 Geneva Conventions. It is predicated on the notion that people can be held accountable for the conduct of a state or its military. Taking hostages, deliberate deaths, torturing or inhumane treatment of prisoners of war, and forcing minors to fight are only a few instances.

The Geneva Conventions (1949) and their Additional Protocols are international treaties that provide the most essential regulations for reducing war's brutality. They safeguard individuals who do not take part in the fighting (civilians, doctors, and relief workers) as well as those who are unable to fight (wounded, sick and shipwrecked troops, prisoners of war). During a battle, the first Geneva Convention protects injured and ill soldiers on land. During a battle, the second Geneva Convention protects injured, ill, and shipwrecked military troops at sea. The third Geneva Convention governs the treatment of prisoners of war. The fourth Geneva Convention protects people, especially those in occupied territory. The Geneva Convention is ratified by India.

International humanitarian law establishes three factors for determining whether an individual or a military has committed a war crime: 

Targeting goals that are "likely to inflict incidental loss of human life, harm to civilians, or damage to civilian objectives, which would be disproportionate in comparison to the specific and direct military gain anticipated" is unlawful. 

Proportionality: Proportionality forbids armies from retaliating excessively violently to an attack. 
For example, if a soldier is murdered, you cannot retaliate by bombing a whole city. 

Precaution: It compels warring parties to avoid or minimise injury to civilian populations.

The United Nations Office for the Prevention of Genocide and the Responsibility to Protect (or Genocide Convention) distinguishes between war crimes and genocide and crimes against humanity. War crimes are those committed during a civil struggle or a war between two governments. While genocide and crimes against humanity can occur in peacetime or during a military's unilateral attack against a group of innocent people.

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