What counts as a war crime?

The conduct of Russian forces in Ukraine is coming under fresh scrutiny after claims that more atrocities have been uncovered in Borodyanka, near Kyiv.

President Volodomyr Zelenskyy said violence in the town had been “more horrific” than in nearby Bucha, where images of murdered civilians led to international condemnation last weekend.

Reports from Bucha also reignited debate about what constitutes a war crime – and whether Russia’s political and military leaders could be held to account.

According to the United Nations, war crimes are defined as “violations of international humanitarian law (treaty or customary law) that incur individual criminal responsibility under international law”. Unlike genocide and crimes against humanity, it says, the violations must “always take place in the context of an armed conflict, either international or non-international”.

Examples of war crimes listed by the UN include wilful killing, torture or inhuman treatment, wilfully causing great suffering, extensive destruction and appropriation of property, compelling a prisoner of war to serve in the military of a hostile power, depriving a prisoner of war of the rights of fair trial, unlawful deportation and taking of hostages.

Evidence in Ukraine

“Investigators and journalists have found what appears to be evidence of the deliberate killing of civilians in Bucha” and the surrounding area to the northwest of Kyiv, said the BBC. When Ukrainian forces entered the area last week they reported finding “mass graves” and “evidence of civilians having been shot dead after their feet and hands were bound”.

Several countries had already backed an investigation launched by the International Court of Justice in late February, but recent reports and images have prompted calls from across the globe “for investigations into war crimes and crimes against humanity”, said Politico.

Joe Biden led calls for the Russian president to face a criminal trial. “I got criticised for calling Putin a war criminal,” he said. “You saw what happened in Bucha, he is a war criminal. We have to gather all the details so this can have a war crimes trial.”

Now it seems likely that international pressure will intensify after Zelenskyy said volunteers and military personnel who were “sorting through the ruins in Borodyanka”, 20 miles from Kyiv, had found evidence of atrocities worse than those seen in Bucha. “It’s much more horrific there,” he said. “There are even more victims of Russian occupiers.”

Article source: https://www.theweek.co.uk/news/world-news/russia/956337/what-is-a-war-crime