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War crimes are violations of international humanitarian law in an armed conflict. According to reports, civilians have been the target of these crimes in Ukraine, most recently in Butsha. But there are also gray areas on the issue.
The Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 and a series of multilateral agreements have become international laws and rules, which must be respected by the parties to the war.
The definition of a war crime against civilians is anchored in Law 8 of the Rome Statutes to the International Criminal Court and is based on the 1949 Geneva Conventions.
While politicians and observers talk about war crimes committed in Ukraine, “at the moment until the evidence is collected and verified and their conformity and double checking is done, we can only talk about suspected war crimes,” says Maria Varaki. , lecturer in international law and co-chair of a war crimes research group at King’s College London.
Lawyers call war crimes grave violations of the Geneva Conventions. “We are talking about the voluntary killing of civilians, torture, the forcible displacement of people, mass killings. “Because one of the basic principles of the laws of war is that civilians should not be killed,” said Varaki.
Therefore, attacks on schools and maternity hospitals in Kiev or on the Theater in Mariupol, are violations of these laws.
“And in the last 48 hours we have seen people in civilian clothes on the street (in Butsha) and some of them have been executed with a bullet in the back of the head. “These are atrocities, according to international humanitarian law,” Varaki said.
Gray areas of the law
As in all aspects of war there are gray areas as far as the definition of war crime is concerned. For this reason, international humanitarian law is based on three principles: – distinction, proportionality and precautionary measures – which stipulate that the parties to a conflict may not strike at civilians or civilian objects.
These principles appear very clear on paper, but they are open to interpretation, for example if a civilian object is seen as a military objective on the basis of use, purpose and function.
“I can give you as an example the bombing of a shopping complex. Ukrainians say we are obviously dealing with civilian infrastructure. “The Russians said they had intelligence that the compound had been used as a storage facility for military purposes,” said Varaki.
Although laws exist to limit human suffering, their principles are often abused and manipulated.
“Everything is based on human interpretation and judgment: when to hit, what to hit and how much to hit,” says Varaki.
Rape and sexual violence
Rape and sexual violence are considered war crimes and violations of international humanitarian law. This is anchored in Law 27 of the Geneva Conventions of 1949.
The courts set up after an incident, called the English ad hoc tribunals, and the Rome Statutes of the International Criminal Court have set out a detailed list of gender-based crimes.
UN Resolution 1820, 2008, redefines that rape can be a war crime and can be used as a weapon in war.
Both the Ukrainian Prosecutor General and the International Criminal Court have said that investigations into the reported sexual violence will begin.
But, says Varaki, here lies the problem. “The issue here is how easy it will be to document. We are talking about very vulnerable victims. “As far as I know, the Russians have tried to cover up the traces of these crimes by burning the victims of gender-based violence.”
Despite these attempts to hide the crimes, she thinks more and more incidents will be discovered and investigated. “We have had victims who came from Russian-controlled territories and are now telling the world their horrific stories.”
Genocide
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russian troops of committing genocide. This term is used when referring to intentional attempts to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.
However, we are still in turbulent legal waters. Genocide, technically a crime against humanity can occur even in times of peace, not just during wars or conflict situations.
“According to the law, it is very difficult to prove genocide as a crime. “You have to prove that there were genocidal motives to prove that genocide was committed against a certain group of people, according to the crimes of genocide that we have in the Rome Statutes, but also in the 1948 Genocide Convention,” says Varaki.
She points out that it is important to judge the word genocide according to its semiotic significance. “She has special emotional values. “When politicians use it, they provoke a certain emotional reaction.”
“So politicians use the word genocide for other purposes. But legally speaking, it is very, very difficult to prove the crime of genocide. ”/ DW
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