List of war crimes

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This article lists and summarizes war crimes committed since the Hague Convention of 1907. In addition, those incidents which have been judged in a court of justice to be Crimes Against Peace that have been committed since these crimes were first defined are also included.[1]

Since many war crimes are not ultimately prosecuted (due to lack of political will, lack of effective procedures, or other practical and political reasons[2]), historians and lawyers will often make a serious case that war crimes occurred, even if there was no formal investigations or prosecution of the alleged crimes or an investigation cleared the alleged perpetrators.

War crimes under international law were firmly established by international trials such as the 1945 Nuremberg Major War Crimes Trials and the Tokyo trial of 1946, in which German and Japanese leaders were prosecuted for war crimes committed during World War II. For purpose of selectivity, only war crimes since the customary laws of war were clarified in the Hague Conventions of 1907 are included, because in the judgement at the Major War Crimes Trial in Nuremberg in 1945, it was stated that "by 1939 these rules laid down in the Hague Convention of 1907 were recognised by all civilised nations, and were regarded as being declaratory of the laws and customs of war".[3]

Contents

[edit] 1937-1945: Second Sino-Japanese War

This section includes war crimes until 8 December 1941 when the United States declared war on Japan so entering World War II. For war crimes after this date see the section called World War II: Japan perpetrated crimes.

Armed conflict Perpetrator
Second Sino-Japanese War Japan
Incident Type of crime Persons responsible Notes
Nanking Massacre,[4] China, 1937-38 Crimes against humanity; War crimes (Mass murder of civilian population & POWs, rape, looting) General Asaka Yasuhiko, commander, Japanese Shanghai Expeditionary Force, Imperial Japanese Army. General Iwane Matsui, Commanding general of Japanese forces in China, Imperial Japanese Army. Chief of staff of the Army Kotohito Kan'in, Minister of War Hajime Sugiyama. Debate still is ongoing as to the culpability of Emperor Hirohito in the events. After the Battle of Nanking, on 13 December 1937, Japanese entered the city virtually resistance free. From then for a period of about 6 weeks after, until early February 1938, widespread war crimes were committed including mass rape, looting, arson, the killing of civilians and prisoners of war. Most estimates put deaths at between 150,000 and 300,000 with newly declassified US government documents estimating an additional 500,000 outside Nanking before its fall.
Hankow massacre,China, 1938 War crimes (Mass execution of POWs) General Shunroku Hata, commander, China Expeditionary Army , Imperial Japanese Army. War crimes were committed including the killing of civilians and prisoners of war[5].
Attack on China in 1937 Crimes against peace (Waging unprovoked war against China (count 27 at the Tokyo Trials)[4]) Sadao Araki, Kenji Doihara, Kingoro Hashimoto, Shunroku Hata, Kiichiro Hiranuma, Koki Hirota, Naoki Hoshino, Seishiro Itagaki, Okinori Kaya, Koichi Kido, Heitaro Kimura, Kuniaki Koiso, Jiro Minami, Akira Muto, Takasumi Oka, Hiroshi Oshima, Kenryo Sato, Mamoru Shigemitsu, Shigetaro Shimada, Teiichi Suzuki, Toshio Shiratori, Shigenori Togo, Hideki Tojo, Yoshijiro Umezu
Attack on the United States in 1941[4] Crimes against peace (Waging aggressive war against the United States. (count 29 at the Tokyo Trials)[4]) Kenji Doihara, Shunroku Hata, Kiichiro Hiranuma, Naoki Hoshino, Seishiro Itagaki, Okinori Kaya, Koichi Kido, Heitaro Kimura, Kuniaki Koiso, Akira Muto, Takasumi Oka, Kenryo Sato, Mamoru Shigemitsu, Shigetaro Shimada, Teiichi Suzuki, Shigenori Togo, Hideki Tojo, Yoshijiro Umezu[4] Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Combined Fleet started the war with the Attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, December 7, 1941. War crimes were committed including the killing of civilians in an undeclared war.

[edit] 1939-1945 World War II

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[edit] Axis powers (listed by country)

The Axis Powers (particularly Germany and Japan) were perhaps the most systematic perpetrators of war crimes in human history. Contributing factors included Nazi race theory, a desire for "living space" that justified the eradication of native populations, and militaristic indoctrination that encouraged the terrorization of conquered peoples and prisoners of war. The Holocaust, the German attack on Russia and occupation of Western Europe, and the Japanese occupation of Manchuria and attack on China contributed to well over half of the civilian deaths in World War II and the conflicts that led up to the war.

[edit] Croatian perpetrated crimes

Numerous concentration camps were built in Croatia, most notably Jasenovac (in Croatian: Logor Jasenovac in Serbian: Логор Јасеновац / Logor Jasenovac), the largest, where hundreds of thousands of Serbs, Gypsies (Roma), Jews and Croatian dissidents died. It was established by the Ustaša regime of the Independent State of Croatia in August 1941 and not dismantled until April 1945, shortly before the end of the war. Other concentration camps were in Gospić, Pag, Đakovo, Jastrebarsko and Lepoglava.

According to the Simon Wiesenthal Center (citing the Encyclopedia of the Holocaust), "Ustasa terrorists killed 500,000 Serbs, expelled 250,000 and forced 250,000 to convert to Catholicism. They murdered thousands of Jews and Gypsies."[6]

Jasenovac was a complex of five subcamps and three smaller camps spread out over 240 square kilometers (93 square miles), in relatively close proximity to each other, on the bank of the Sava river. Most of the camp was at Jasenovac, about 100 km (62 miles) southeast of Zagreb. The complex also included large grounds at Donja Gradina directly across the Sava river, a camp for children in Sisak to the northwest, and a women's camp in Stara Gradiška to the southeast.

Ante Pavelić, leader of the Ustasha, fled to Argentina and Spain, and was never extradited to stand trial for his war crimes.

See Ustaša.

[edit] Italian perpetrated crimes

[edit] German perpetrated crimes

According to the Nuremberg Trials, there were four major war crimes that were alleged against German military (and Waffen-SS and NSDAP) men and officers, each with individual events that made up the major charges.

1. Participation in a common plan of conspiracy for the accomplishment of crimes against peace

2. Planning, initiating and waging wars of aggression and other crimes against peace

3. War Crimes These were limited to atrocities against combatants or conventional crimes committed by military units (see War crimes of the Wehrmacht), and include:

4. Crimes against Humanity These were crimes that were committed well away from the lines of battle and were unconnected in any way to military activity.

Other crimes against humanity included:

Well over 10 million people were systematically killed by the Nazi regime (some accountings place the figure at over 20 million) from crimes against humanity, in particular the Holocaust. Of this figure, the largest amount of deaths happened among the Jews. The common estimate is that 5 to 6 million Jews were killed by the Nazis, although a complete count may never be known. After the war, the Nazi regime was put on trial in two tribunals in Nuremberg, Germany by the victorious Allied powers from 1945 to 1949. The first tribunal indicted 24 major Nazi war criminals, and resulted in 19 convictions (of which 12 led to death sentences) and 3 acquittals. The second tribunal indicted 185 members of the military, economic, and political leadership of Nazi Germany, of which 142 were convicted and 35 were acquitted. In subsequent decades, approximately 20 additional war criminals who escaped capture in the immediate aftermath of World War II were tried in West Germany and Israel. In Germany and many other European nations, the Nazi Party is outlawed.

[edit] Hungarian perpetrated crimes

Incident Type of crime Persons responsible Notes
Ip massacre[citation needed] Crimes against humanity (Murder of civilians) no prosecutions

[edit] Japanese perpetrated crimes

Main article: Japanese war crimes

This section includes war crimes from 8 December 1941 when the United States declared war on Japan so entering World War II. For war crimes before this date which took place during the Second Sino-Japanese War please see the section above called 1937-1945: Second Sino-Japanese War.

Incident Type of crime Persons responsible Notes
World War II[citation needed] Crimes against peace General Doihara Kenji, Baron Hirota Koki, General Itagaki Seishiro, General Kimura Heitaro, General Matsui Iwane, General Muto Akira, General Hideki Tojo, General Araki Sadao, Colonel Hashimoto Kingoro, Field Marshal Hata Shunroku, Baron Hiranuma Kiichiro, Hoshino Naoki, Kaya Okinori, Marquis Kido Kōichi, General Koiso Kuniaki, General Minami Jiro, Admiral Oka Takasumi, General Oshima Hiroshi, General Sato Kenryo, Admiral Shimada Shigetaro, Shiratori Toshio, General Suzuki Teiichi, General Umezu Yoshijiro, Togo Shigenori, Shigemitsu Mamoru Were tried by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East
Waging aggressive war against the British Commonwealth (count 31 at the Tokyo Trials)[4] Kenji Doihara, Shunroku Hata, Kiichiro Hiranuma, Naoki Hoshino, Seishiro Itagaki, Okinori Kaya, Koichi Kido, Heitaro Kimura, Kuniaki Koiso, Akira Muto, Takasumi Oka, Kenryo Sato, Mamoru Shigemitsu, Shigetaro Shimada,Teiichi Suzuki, Shigenori Togo, Hideki Tojo, Yoshijiro Umezu[4] War started with attacks on Hong Kong and Malaya
Waging aggressive war against the Netherlands(count 32 at the Tokyo Trials)[4] Kenji Doihara, Shunroku Hata, Kiichiro Hiranuma, Naoki Hoshino, Seishiro Itagaki, Okinori Kaya, Koichi Kido, Heitaro Kimura, Kuniaki Koiso, Akira Muto, Takasumi Oka, Kenryo Sato, Mamoru Shigemitsu, Shigetaro Shimada,Teiichi Suzuki, Shigenori Togo, Hideki Tojo, Yoshijiro Umezu[4]
Waging aggressive war against France in Indochina (count 33 at the Tokyo Trials)[4] Mamoru Shigemitsu, Hideki Tojo[4]
Waging aggressive war against the USSR (counts 35 and 36 or both at the Tokyo Trials)[4] Kenji Doihara, Kiichiro Hiranuma, Seishiro Itagaki[4]
"ordered, authorized, and permitted" inhumane treatment of Prisoners of War (POWs) and others. (count 54 at the Tokyo Trials)[4] Kenji Doihara, Seishiro Itagaki, Heitaro Kimura, Akira Muto, Hideki Tojo[4]
"deliberately and recklessly disregarded their duty" to take adequate steps to prevent atrocities. (counts 55 at the Tokyo Trials)[4] Shunroku Hata, Koki Hirota, Heitaro Kimura, Kuniaki Koiso, Iwane Matsui, Akira Muto, Mamoru Shigemitsu[4]
"Black Christmas", Hong Kong, December 25, 1941[7], Crimes against humanity (Murder of civilians; mass rape, looting) no specific prosecutions, although the conviction and execution of Takashi Sakai included some activities in Hong Kong during the time frame On the day of the British surrender of Hong Kong to the Japanese, Japanese soldiers also terrorised the local population by murdering many, raping an estimated 10,000 women, and looting.
Banka Island Massacre, Dutch East Indies, 1942 Crimes against humanity (Murder of civilians) no prosecutions The merchant ship Vyner Brooke was sunk by Japanese aircraft. The survivors who made it to Banka Island were all shot or bayonetted, including 22 nurses ordered into the sea and machine-gunned. One nurse Vivian Bullwinkel survived the massacre and later testified at a war crimes trial in Tokyo in 1947[8]
Bataan Death March, Philippines, 1942 Crime of torture, war crimes (Torture and murder of POWs) General Masaharu Homma was convicted by an Allied commission of war crimes, including the atrocities of the death march out of Bataan, and the atrocities at Camp O'Donnell and Cabanatuan that followed. He was executed on April 3, 1946 outside Manila. Approximately 75,000 Filipino and US soldiers, commanded by Major General Edward P. King, Jr. formally surrendered to the Japanese, under General Masaharu Homma, on April 9, 1942, which forced Japan to accept emaciated captives outnumbering them. Captives were forced to march, beginning the next day, about 100 kilometers north to Nueva Ecija to Camp O'Donnell, a prison camp. Prisoners of war were beaten randomly and denied food and water for several days. Those who fell behind were executed through various means: shot, beheaded or bayoneted. Deaths estimated at 650-1,500 U.S. and 2,000 to over 5,000 Filipino-,[5]
Operation Sankō (Three Alls Policy) Crime of genocide, Crimes against humanity (Extermination of civilians) General Yasuji Okamura Authorized in December 1941 to implement a scorched earth policy in North China by Imperial General Headquarters. According to historian Mitsuyoshi Himeta, "more than 2.7 million" civilians were killed in this operation that began in May 1942. [9]
Parit Sulong massacre, Malaysia, 1942 War crimes (Murder of POWs) Lieutenant General Takuma Nishimura, was convicted for this crime by an Australian Military Court and hanged on June 11, 1951.[10] Recently captured Australian and Indian POWs, who had been too badly wounded to escape through the jungle, were murdered by Japanese soldiers. Accounts differ on how they were killed. Two wounded Australians managed to escape the massacre and provide eyewitness accounts of the Japanese treatment of wounded prisoners of war, as did locals who witnessed the massacre. Official records indicate that 150 wounded men were killed.
Laha massacre, 1942 War crimes (Murder of POWs) In 1946, the Laha massacre and other incidents which followed the fall of Ambon became the subject of the largest ever war crimes trial, when 93 Japanese personnel were tried by an Australian tribunal, at Ambon. Among other convictions, four men were executed as a result. Commander Kunito Hatakeyama, who was in direct command of the four massacres, was hanged; Rear Admiral Koichiro Hatakeyama, who was found to have ordered the killings, died before he could be tried.[11] After the battle Battle of Ambon, more than 300 Australian and Dutch prisoners of war were chosen at random and summarily executed, at or near Laha airfield in four separate massacres. "The Laha massacre was the largest of the atrocities committed against captured Allied troops in 1942.".[12]
Alexandra Hospital massacre, Battle of Singapore, 1942 Crimes against humanity (Murder of civilians) no prosecutions At about 1pm on February 14, Japanese soldiers approached Alexandra Barracks Hospital. Although no resistance was offered, some of them shot or bayoneted staff members and patients. The remaining staff and patients were murdered over the next two days, 200 in all.[13]
Sook Ching Massacre, 1942 Crimes against humanity (Murder of civilians) In 1947, the British Colonial authorities in Singapore held a war crimes trial to bring the perpetrators to justice. Seven officers, were charged with carrying out the massacre. While Lieutenant General Saburo Kawamura, Lieutenant Colonel Masayuki Oishi received the death penalty, the other five received life sentences The massacre (estimated at 25,000-50,000) [14] was a systematic extermination of perceived hostile elements among the Chinese in Singapore by the Japanese military administration during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore, after the British colony surrendered in the Battle of Singapore on 15 February 1942.
Changjiao massacre,China, 1943 Crimes against humanity, War crimes (Mass murder of civilian population & POWs, rape, looting) General Shunroku Hata, commander, China Expeditionary Army , Imperial Japanese Army. War crimes were committed including mass rape, looting, arson, the killing of civilians and prisoners of war.[15][16][17]
Manila Massacre Crimes against humanity (Murder of civilians) Tomoyuki Yamashita commander, Akira Muto chief of staff As commander of the 14th Area Army in the Philippines, Gen. Yamashita failed to stop his troops from killing over 100,000 Filipino citizens of Manila [18]

during the fighting with both native resistance forces and elements of the Sixth U.S. Army during the capture of the city in February, 1945. Yamashita pleaded inability to act and lack of knowledge of the massacre, due to his commanding other operations int the area. The defense failed, establishing the Yamashita Standard, which holds that a commander who makes no meaningful effort to uncover and stop atrocities is as culpable as if he had ordered them. His chief of staff Akira Muto was condemned by the Tokyo tribunal.

Unit 100[citation needed] Crimes against humanity; Use of poisons as weapons (biological warfare experiments on humans) no prosecutions
Unit 731 Crimes against humanity; War crimes; Crime of torture; Use of poisons as weapons (biological warfare testing, manufacturing, and use) 12 members of the Kantogun were found guilty for the manufacture and use of biological weapons. Including: General Yamada Otsuzo, former Commander-in-Chief of the Kwantung Army and Major General Kawashima Kiyoshi, former Chief of Unit 731. During this biological and chemical weapons' program over 10,000 were experimented on without anesthetic and as many as 200,000 died throughout China. The Soviet Union tried some members of Unit 731 at the Khabarovsk War Crime Trials. However, those who surrendered to the Americans were never brought to trial as General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers, secretly granted immunity to the physicians of Unit 731 in exchange for providing the United States with their research on biological weapons[19] .
Unit 8604[citation needed] Crimes against humanity; Use of poisons as weapons (biological warfare experiments on humans) no prosecutions
Unit 9420[citation needed] Crimes against humanity; Use of poisons as weapons (biological warfare experiments on humans) no prosecutions
Unit Ei 1644[citation needed] Crimes against humanity; Use of poisons as weapons; Crime of torture; Crime of genocide (violating human rights) no prosecutions Unit 1644 conducted tests to determine human susceptibility to a variety of harmful stimuli ranging from infectious diseases to poison gas. It was the largest germ experimentation center in China. Unit 1644 regularly carried out human vivisections as well as infecting humans with cholera, typhus, and bubonic plague.
construction of Burma-Thai Railway, the "Death Railway"[citation needed] War crimes; Crimes against humanity (POWs and civilian labourers forced to support war effort) no prosecutions The estimated total number of civilian labourers and POWs who died during construction is about 160,000.
Comfort Women[citation needed] Crimes against humanity (violating human rights laws) no prosecutions Up to around 200,000 women were forced to work in Japanese military brothels.
Sandakan Death Marches[citation needed] Crimes against humanity, War crimes (Murder of civilian slave laborers and POWs) Three Allied POWs survived to give evidence at war crimes trials in Tokyo and Rabaul. Hokijima was found guilty and hanged on April 6, 1946 Over 6,000 Indonesian civilian slave laborers and POWs died.
War Crimes in Manchukuo Crimes against humanity; Crime of slaving (Slave labor) Kōa-in According to historian Zhifen Ju, more than 10 million Chinese civilians were mobilized by the Imperial Japanese Army for slave labor in Manchukuo under the supervision of the Kōa-in.[20]
Kaimingye germ weapon attack[citation needed] Crimes against humanity; War crimes, Use of poisons as weapons (use of biological weapons) no prosecutions These bubonic plague attacks killing hundreds were a joint Unit 731 and Unit Ei 1644 endeavor.
Alleged Changde Bacteriological Weapon Attack April and May, 1943 Crimes against humanity; War crimes; Use of poisons as weapons (use of chemical and biological weapons) Prosecutions at the Khabarovsk War Crimes Trials Chemical weapons supplied by Unit 516. Bubonic plague and poison gas were used against civilians, followed by further massacres and burning of the city.[21]

[edit] Romanian perpetrated crimes

Incident type of crime Persons responsible Notes
Iasi pogrom[citation needed] Crimes against humanity; Crime of genocide (murder of civilians, ethnic cleansing) no prosecutions
Odessa massacre[citation needed] Crimes against humanity; Crime of genocide (murder of civilians, ethnic cleansing) no prosecutions
Aita Seaca massacre[citation needed]

[edit] Allied powers (listed by country)

Main article Allied war crimes during World War II

[edit] Soviet Union perpetrated crimes

Main article: Soviet war crimes
Concurrent with World War II
Incident type of crime Persons responsible Notes
Katyń massacre[citation needed] War crimes (Murder of Polish POWs) Lavrenty Beria, Joseph Stalin An NKVD-committed massacre of tens of thousands of Polish officers and intelligentsia throughout the spring of 1940. Originally believed to have been committed by the Nazis in 1941 (after the invasion of eastern Poland and the USSR), it was finally admitted by Mikhail Gorbachev in 1990 that it had been a Soviet operation.
Invasion of Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia[citation needed] Crimes against humanity (Deportation and murder of civilian population) Vladimir Dekanozov, Andrey Vyshinsky, Andrei Zhdanov, Ivan Serov, Joseph Stalin An NKVD-committed deportation of hundreds of thousands of Baltic intelligentsia, land holders and their families in June 1941 and again in January 1949.
Nemmersdorf, East Prussia War crimes, Crimes against humanity (Pillaging, and rape and murder of civilians, in contravention of Hague Conventions of 1907 "IV - The Laws and Customs of War on Land"[22] Articles: 28,43,46,47,50) No prosecutions Nemmersdorf (today Mayakovskoye in Kaliningrad) was one of the first German settlements to fall to the advancing Red Army on October 22, 1944. It was recaptured by the Germans soon afterwards and the German authorities reported that the Red Army killed civilians there. Nazi propaganda widely disseminated the description of the event with horrible details, supposedly to boost the determination of German soldiers to resist the general Soviet advance. Because the incident was investigated by the Nazis and reports were disseminated as Nazi propaganda, discerning the facts from the fiction of the incident is difficult.
invasion of East Prussia War crimes, Crimes against humanity, Crime of genocide--spec. ethnic cleansing; in contravention of Hague Conventions of 1907 "IV - The Laws and Customs of War on Land"[22] War crimes committed by Soviet troops in the areas of Germany occupied by the Red Army. Estimated number of civilian victims in the years 1944-46: at least 300.000 (but not all of them victims of war crimes, many died through starvation, the cold climate and diseases[23][24][25]
Treuenbrietzen Crimes against humanity (Murder of German civilians) Following the capture of the German city of Treuenbrietzen after fierce fighting. Over a period of several days at the end of April and beginning of May roughly 1000 inhabitants of the city, most of them men, were executed by Soviet troops.[26]
Battle of Berlin Crimes against humanity (Mass rape)[27]
Evacuation of Karafuto and Kuriles[citation needed] Crimes against humanity (murder of civilians)
Evacuation of Manchukuo[citation needed]
Expulsion of Germans during World War II War crimes, Crimes against humanity, Crime of genocide--spec. ethnic cleansing (mass murder, forced rape, others, during an illegal mass forcement of ethnic Germans from their homes in Prussia, Pomerania, Silesia) [citation needed] War crimes committed by Soviet troops in the areas of Germany occupied by the Red Army. Estimated number of civilian victims in the years 1944-46: at least 300.000 (but not all of them victims of war crimes, many died through starvation, the cold climate and diseases[28][29][30]

[edit] United Kingdom perpetrated crimes

Incident Type of crime Persons responsible Notes
Unrestricted submarine warfare against merchant shipping Breach of London Naval Treaty(1930) no prosecutions It was the conclusion of the Nuremberg Trials of Karl Dönitz that Britain had been in breach of the Treaty "in particular of an order of the British Admiralty announced on the 8 May 1940, according to which all vessels should be sunk at sight in the Skagerrak"[31]

[edit] United States perpetrated crimes

Incident Type of crime Persons responsible Notes
Unrestricted submarine warfare against merchant shipping Breach of London Naval Treaty (1930) no prosecutions During the post war Nuremberg Trials, in evidence presented at the trial of Karl Dönitz on his orders to the U-boat fleet to breach the London Rules, Admiral Chester Nimitz stated that unrestricted submarine warfare was carried on in the Pacific Ocean by the United States from the first day that nation entered the war.[31]
Canicattì massacre[citation needed] Crimes against humanity (Murder of civilians) no prosecutions During the Allied invasion of Sicily, eight civilians, including an eleven year old girl, were killed, though the exact number of casualties is uncertain. [6] The incident was covered up fearing that it would lead to reprisals from the civilian population.
Biscari massacre[citation needed] War crimes (Murder of POWs) Sergeant Horace T. West: court-martialed and was found guilty, stripped of rank and sentenced to life in prison, though he was later released as a private. Captain John T. Compton was court-martialed for killing 40 POWs in his charge. He claimed to be following orders. The investigating officer and the Judge Advocate declared that Compton's actions were unlawful, but he was acquitted. Following the capture of Biscari Airfield in Sicily on July 14, 1943, seventy-six German and Italian POWs were shot by American troops of the 180th Regimental Combat Team, 45th Division during the Allied invasion of Sicily. These killings occurred in two separate incidents between July and August 1943.
Dachau massacre[citation needed] War crimes (Murder of POWs) no prosecutions
Salina, Utah POW massacre[citation needed] War crimes (Murder of POWs) Private Clarence V. Bertucci determined to be insane and confined to a mental institution Private Clarence V. Bertucci fired a machine gun from one of the guard towers into the tents that were being used to accommodate the German prisoners of war. Nine were killed and 20 were injured.
Atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Crimes against humanity, War crimes, Use of poisons as weapons (Japan, 1945: A Japanese court stated in a judicial review that the attacks were on undefended cities.) no prosecutions In 1963 the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the subject of a judicial review in Ryuichi Shimoda et al. v. The State.[32] The District Court of Tokyo declined to rule on the legality of nuclear weapons in general, but found that "the attacks upon Hiroshima and Nagasaki caused such severe and indiscriminate suffering that they did violate the most basic legal principles governing the conduct of war."[33] Francisco Gómez points out in an article published in the International Review of the Red Cross that, with respect to the "anti-city" or "blitz" strategy, that "in examining these events in the light of international humanitarian law, it should be borne in mind that during the Second World War there was no agreement, treaty, convention or any other instrument governing the protection of the civilian population or civilian property."[34] The United States have stated that they consider the possibility that the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings could be considered war crimes to be "intolerable and unacceptable", and that this is one of the major reasons for their not agreeing to be bound by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.[35]
Rheinwiesenlager[36] War crimes (Deaths of POWs) no prosecutions The Rheinwiesenlager (Rhine meadow camps) were transit camps for millions of German POWs after World War II. There were at least thousands of deaths, dying mostly from starvation and exposure. These estimates range from just over 3,000 to as many as 71,000.
American Mutilation of Japanese War Dead[37][38][39] War crimes (Abuse of Remains) Though there are no known prosecutions, the practice was recognized to have been conducted, condemned as atrocities, and explicitly forbidden by order of the Judge Advocate General in 1943-1944. Many dead Japanese were desecrated and/or mutilated, for example by urinating on them, shooting corpses, or taking Japanese body parts (such as skulls) as souvenirs or trophies. This is in violation of the 1929 Geneva Convention on the sick and wounded, which provided that: After every engagement, the belligerent who remains in possession of the field shall take measures to search for wounded and the dead and to protect them from robbery and ill treatment.[40]

[edit] Yugoslavian partisans perpetrated crimes

Armed conflict Perpetrator
Yugoslavia campaign Yugoslavian partisans
Incident Type of crime Persons responsible Notes
Foibe massacres War crimes, Crimes against humanity (Murder of prisoners of war and civilians) no prosecutions Following Italy's 1943 armistice with the Allied powers, Yugoslavian resistance forces executed an estimated 1,300-1,600 Italian troops and ethnic Italians living in Slovenian/Croatian territories adjacent to Italy.[41]
Bleiburg massacre War crimes, crimes against humanity (Murder of prisoners of war and civilians) no prosecutions The victims were Croatian soldiers and civilians (as well as a number of Chetniks), executed without trial as an act of vengeance for the crimes committed by the pro-Axis Ustaše regime controlled territories during World War II.[42] Estimates vary, from 30,000 to 55,000.
1944-1945 Killings in Bačka War crimes, crimes against humanity (Murder of prisoners of war and civilians) no prosecutions 1944-1945 ethnic cleansing in Bačka of thousands of ethnic Hungarians. Estimates vary from 5,000 to 50,000.

[edit] 1968-1973: Vietnam War

Armed conflict Perpetrator
Vietnam War United States
Incident Type of crime Persons responsible Notes
My Lai Massacre[citation needed] Crimes against humanity (Murder of civilians) Lt. William Calley convicted in 1971 of premeditated murder of 22 civilians for his role in the massacre and sentenced to life in prison. He served 3½ years under house arrest. In March, 1968, a US army platoon led by Lt. William Calley killed (and in some cases raped) hundreds of civilians – primarily women, children, and old men – in the village of My Lai. 26 US soldiers, including 14 officers, were charged with crimes related to the My Lai massacre and its coverup. Most of the charges were eventually dropped, and only Lt. Calley was convicted.
Operation Ranch Hand[citation needed] Crimes against humanity; Use of poisons as weapons (Use of defoliant weapons with poisonous side effects on civilians) no prosecutions
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
  • "Vietnam War Crimes Working Group Files"[citation needed] - Briefly declassified (1994) and subsequently reclassified (2002?) documentary evidence compiled by a Pentagon task force detailing endemic war crimes. Substantiating 320 incidents by Army investigators, including seven massacres from 1967 through 1971 in which at least 137 civilians died (not including My Lai). Seventy-eight other attacks on noncombatants in which at least 57 were killed, 56 wounded and 15 sexually assaulted. One hundred forty-one instances in which U.S. soldiers tortured civilian detainees or prisoners of war.

[edit] North Vietnam

North Vietnam:

  • North Vietnamese troops executed 2500 civilians while occupying the city of Hue in 1968; thus constituting Crimes against humanity. An additional 3500 people are suspected to have been executed, but never found. See: Massacre at Huế.
  • U.S. Prisoners of war held at the so-called "Hanoi Hilton" were subject to torture and other mistreatment by their North Vietnamese captors, thus constituting War crimes.[citation needed]
  • Thousands of South Vietnamese perished in the concentration or "re-education" camps shortly after the fall of Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) thus constituting Crimes against humanity.[citation needed]

[edit] 1971: Bangladesh War

Armed conflict Perpetrator
1971 Bangladesh War Pakistan
Incident Type of crime Persons responsible Notes
1971 Bangladesh atrocities War crimes, Crimes against humanity, Crime of genocide (murder of civilians; genocide) Allegedly the Pakistan Government, and the Pakistan Army and its local collaborators. A case was filed in the Federal Court of Australia on September 20, 2006 for crimes of Genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.[7] During the Bangladesh War of 1971, widespread atrocities were committed against the Bengali population of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), at a level that within Bangladesh, ‘genocide’ is the term that is still used to describe the event in almost every major publication and newspaper.[43][44] Although the word ‘genocide’ was and is still used frequently amongst observers and scholars of the events that transpired during the 1971 war, the allegations that a genocide took place during the Bangladesh War of 1971 were never investigated by an international tribunal set up under the auspices of the United Nations, so the alleged genocide is not recognised as a genocide under international law.
Civilian Casualties Crimes against humanity (murder of civilians) no prosecutions The number of civilians that died in the liberation war of Bangladesh is not known in any reliable accuracy. There has been a great disparity in the casualty figures put forth by Pakistan on one hand (26,000, as reported in the Hamoodur Rahman Commission[45]) and India and Bangladesh on the other hand (From 1972 to 1975 the first post-war prime minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, mentioned that 3 million died on a dozen occasions[46]).
Atrocities on women and minorities Crimes against humanity; Crime of genocide; Crime of torture (torture, rape and murder of civilians) no prosecutions The minorities of Bangladesh, especially the Hindus, were specific targets of the Pakistan army.[47] Numerous East Pakistani women were tortured, raped and killed during the war. The exact numbers are not known and are a subject of debate. Bangladeshi sources cite a figure of 200,000 women raped, giving birth to thousands of war-babies. Some other sources, for example Susan Brownmiller, refer to an even higher number of over 400,000. Pakistani sources claim the number is much lower, though having not completely denied rape incidents.[48][49][50]
Killing of intellectuals Crimes against humanity (murder of civilians) no prosecutions During the war, the Pakistan Army and its local collaborators carried out a systematic execution of the leading Bengali intellectuals. A number of university professors from Dhaka University were killed during the first few days of the war.[51][52] However, the most extreme cases of targeted killing of intellectuals took place during the last few days of the war. On December 14, 1971, only two days before surrendering to the Indian military and the Mukhti Bahini forces, the Pakistani army – with the assistance of the Al Badr and Al Shams – systematically executed well over 200 of East Pakistan's intellectuals and scholars.[53][54]

[edit] Cambodian civil war 1970-1994

Cambodian Civil War. Crimes against humanity; Crime of genocide. Khmer Rouge killed many persons due to political affiliation, education, class origin, occupation, and ethnicity. 12

[edit] Lao civil war 1960-1975

Lao civil war. Crimes against humanity. Murder of the royal family and people associated with the former government in re-education camps.[citation needed]

[edit] 1980-1988: Iran-Iraq War

Armed conflict Perpetrator
Iran-Iraq War Iraq
Incident Type of crime Persons responsible Notes
Iran-Iraq War[citation needed] Crimes against peace (Waging a war of aggression); War crimes; Use of poisons as weapons no prosecutions In 1980, Iraq invaded neighboring Iran, allegedly to capture Iraqi territory held by Iran.
Use of chemical weapons War crimes, Use of poisons as weapons (Violation of 1925 Geneva Protocol[8]) No prosecutions Iraq made extensive use of chemical weapons, including mustard gas and nerve agents such as tabun. Iraqi chemical weapons were responsible for over 100,000 Iranian casualties (including 20,000 deaths).[55]
Attacks on neutral shipping[citation needed] Crime against peace (Attacks against parties not involved in a war) No prosecutions Iraq attacked oil tankers from neutral nations in an attempt to disrupt enemy trade
Halabja poison gas attack Dutch court has ruled that the incident involved War Crimes and Genocide; also may involve the Use of poisons as weapons and Crimes against humanity. Ali Hassan Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti, officially titled Secretary General of the Northern Bureau of the Ba'ath Party from March 1987 to April 1989, and advisor to Saddam Hussein, was convicted in June 2007 of war crimes and was sentenced to death by an Iraqi court, along with accomplices Sultan Hashem Ahmed and Hussein Rashid Mohammed.
Frans van Anraat war crime.
Iraq also used chemical weapons against their own Kurdish population causing casualties estimated between several hundred up to 5,000 deaths[9]. On December 23, 2005 a Dutch court ruled in a case brought against Frans van Anraat for supplying chemicals to Iraq, that "[it] thinks and considers legally and convincingly proven that the Kurdish population meets the requirement under the genocide conventions as an ethnic group. The court has no other conclusion that these attacks were committed with the intent to destroy the Kurdish population of Iraq." and because he supplied the chemicals before 16 March 1988, the date of the Halabja attack, he is guilty of a war crime but not guilty of complicity in genocide.[56][57]
Armed conflict Perpetrator
Iran-Iraq War Iran
Incident Type of crime Persons responsible Notes
Attacks on neutral shipping[citation needed] Crime against peace (Attacks against parties not involved in the war) no prosecutions Iran attacked oil tankers from neutral nations in an attempt to disrupt enemy trade.
Laid mines in international waters[citation needed] no prosecutions Mines damaged the US frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts

[edit] Uganda 1985-present

Almost 20 years of fighting... has killed half a million people. Many of the dead are children... The LRA [a cannibalism cult][58] kidnaps children and forces them to join its ranks. And so, incredibly, children are not only the main victims of this war, but also its unwilling perpetrators... The girls told me they had been given to rebel commanders as "wives" and forced to bear them children. The boys said they had been forced to walk for days knowing they would be killed if they showed any weakness, and in some cases forced even to murder their family members... every night up to 10,000 children walk into the centre of Kitgum... because they are not safe in their own beds... more than 25,000 children have been kidnapped ...this year an average of 20 children have been abducted every week.

[edit] Sabra and Shatila massacre 1982

See Sabra and Shatila massacre

[edit] Yugoslav wars 1991-1999

[edit] Croatian War of Independence 1991-1995

Also see List of ICTY indictees for a variety of war criminals and crimes during this era.

Armed conflict Perpetrator
Croatian War of Independence Yugoslav People's Army, Army of Serbian Krajina and paramilitary units.
Incident Type of crime Persons responsible Notes
Borovo Selo killings[59] Crimes against humanity (Murder of 12 and wounding of 20 policemen) Serb paramilitary units commanded by Vojislav Šešelj. Šešelj is on trial at ICTY. 2 May 1991
Ovčara massacre[60] Crimes against humanity, War crimes (Over 264 civilians and wounded POWs executed after Battle of Vukovar) Serb Territorial Defense and paramilitary units. Mile Mrkšić sentenced to 20 years, Veselin Šljivančanin sentenced to 5 years. Miroslav Radić acquitted. 18 November - 21 November 1991; bodies buried in a mass grave
Dalj killings[61] War crimes (Execution of 11 detainees) Territorial Defense of SAO SBWS under Željko Ražnatović. Dalj was also one of the charges on the Slobodan Milošević ICTY indictment. 21 September 1991; bodies buried in a mass grave in the village of Celija
Dalj massacre[62] War crimes (Massacre of 28 detainees) Territorial Defense of SAO SBWS under Željko Ražnatović. Dalj was also one of the charges on the Slobodan Milošević ICTY indictment. 4 October 1991
Lovas massacre[63] War crimes; Crimes against humanity (Massacre of 70-75 detainees, most of whom were civilians.) Yugoslav People's Army, Territorial Defense of SAO SBWS and Dušan Silni paramilitary unit. Ljuban Devetak and 17 individuals are being tried by Croatian Courts. Lovas was also one of the charges on the Slobodan Milošević ICTY indictment. 10 October 1991
Široka Kula massacre[64] Crimes against humanity (Massacre of 40 civilians.) JNA and Krajina Serb Territorial Defense. Široka Kula near Gospić. On October 13, 1991.
Baćin massacre[64] Crimes against humanity (Massacre of approximately 110 civilians.) Serb Territorial Defense forces and SAO Krajina militia. Milan Babić and Milan Martić convicted by ICTY. Baćin was also one of the charges on the Slobodan Milošević ICTY indictment. On 21 October 1991.
Ethnic cleansing of Lipovaca, Vukovići and Saborsko[65] Crimes against humanity (Massacre of 10 civilians.) Serb-led JNA and TO forces. Milan Babić and Milan Martić convicted. On November 7, 1991.
Saborsko massacre[64] Crimes against humanity (Massacre of 29 civilians.) Serb-led JNA (special JNA unit from Niš) and rebel Serbs militia. Milan Babić and Milan Martić convicted. On November 12, 1991.
Škabrnja massacre[66] Crimes against humanity, War crimes (Massacre of 86 civilians and POWs.) Serb forces. Milan Babić and Milan Martić convicted. On November 18, 1991.
Siege of Dubrovnik[67] Crimes against humanity (Shelling of civilian targets that killed almost 90 civilians) JNA and Montenegrin territorial forces. Several JNA commanders sentenced. Shelling of UNESCO protected World Heritage site. October 1991.
Voćin massacre[68] Crimes against humanity (Massacre of 32 civilians.) White Eagles paramilitary group under Vojislav Šešelj, indicted by ICTY. Voćin was also one of the charges on the Slobodan Milošević ICTY indictment. 13 December 1991.
Bruška massacre[69] Crimes against humanity (Massacre of civilians.) Serb forces. Milan Babić and Milan Martić convicted. On December 21, 1991.
Zagreb rocket attack[70] Crimes against humanity (Shelling of civilian targets in 1995 that killed 7 and wounded at least 175.) RSK Serb forces. Leader Milan Martić bragged on Television about ordering the assault, the videotape being used against him at ICTY, convicted. Rocket attack was started as revenge for Serb military defeat in Operation Flash.
Ethnic cleansing in Serb Krajina[64] Crime of genocide (Expulsion of almost 78,000 non-Serbs (mostly Croats)) JNA and Serb paramilitaries. Many people, including leaders Milan Babić and Milan Martić, convicted at ICTY and Croatian courts. June-December 1991
Armed conflict Perpetrator
Croatian War of Independence Croatian Army and paramilitary units
Incident Type of crime Persons responsible Notes
Lora prison camp[71] Crime of torture, War crimes (Torture of POWs) Croatian army. Several people convicted by Croatian courts.[citation needed] Croatian internment camp for Serb soldiers and civilians between 1992 and 1997
Borovo Selo killings[72] Crimes against humanity (Murder of 20 civilians) Croatian police forces. No prosecutions 2 May 1991; started the ethnic conflict in Baranya, Eastern Slavonia and Western Syrmia
Gospić massacre[73] Crimes against humanity (Massacre of 50-100 civilians) Croatian army. Commander Mirko Norac and others convicted by Croatian courts. 16 - 18 October 1991
Operation Otkos 10[74] Crimes against humanity; Crime of genocide (Killings of numerous individuals and expulsion of thousands of civilians from over 20 villages) Croatian army. No prosecutions 31 October - 4 November 1991
Miljevci plateau incident[75] War crimes (Killings of 40 militiamen) Croatian army. No prosecutions 21 June 1992; invasion and permanent occupation of territory under international protection; bodies buried in mass graves nearby
Battle for Maslenica Bridge[76] Crimes against humanity, War crimes (Killings of 490 or 491 individuals, including civilians) Croatian army. No prosecutions 22 January - 1 February 1993; invasion of territory under international protection
Mirlovic Polje incident[77] Crimes against humanity (Murder of 7 elderly civilians) Croatian paramilitaries. No prosecutions 6 September 1993; 5 men and 2 women, four were executed and three burned alive at the stake
Operation Medak Pocket Crimes against humanity, War crimes, Crime against peace (Killings of at least 100 civilians; wounding 4 UN peacekeepers[78]) Croatian army. Commanders Janko Bobetko and Rahim Ademi. Ademi is on trial at ICTY; Bobetko died in the meantime 9 September - 17 September 1993; invasion of territory under international protection and assault on UN peacekeeping forces
Operation Flash[79] Crimes against humanity, Crime of genocide (Killings of at least 83 civilians and causing an exodus of 30,000) Croatian army. No prosecutions 1 May - 3 May 1995; Western Slavonia fully taken from RSK; 53 were killed in their own homes, while 30 during the Croatian raids of the refugee colons; invasion and permanent occupation of territory under international protection
Operation Storm[80] Crimes against humanity, Crime of genocide (Killings of hundreds, approximately 677, and expulsions of approximately 200,000-250,000 civilians) Croatian army. Generals Ante Gotovina, Ivan Čermak and Mladen Markač. The three are on trial at ICTY 4 August - 15 November 1995; considered by ICTY to be a part of a "joint criminal enterprise" by the Croatian state core in an attempt to expel the Croatian Serb population; invasion and permanent occupation of territory under international protection; ended the war in Croatia

[edit] Bosnian War 1992-1995

Armed conflict Perpetrator
Bosnian War Army of Republika Srpska, Paramilitary units from Serbia, local Serb police and civilians.
Incident Type of crime Persons responsible Notes
Srebrenica Massacre[81] Crime of genocide, Crimes against humanity (Murder of over 7,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys) | width = 32% |Army of Republika Srpska. President Radovan Karadžić and General Ratko Mladić charged. Following the fall of the eastern Bosnian enclave of Srebrenica the men were separated from the women and executed over a period of several days in July 1995.
Markale massacre[82] Crimes against humanity (Murder of 68 civilians and wounding 144) Army of Republika Srpska. No prosecutions The victims were civilians who were shopping in an open air market in Sarajevo when Serb forces shelled the market. Two separate incidents. February 1994; 68 killed and 144 wounded and August 1995; 37 killed and 90 wounded.
Tuzla massacre[citation needed] Crimes against humanity (Murder of 72 and wounding of more than 200 individuals) Army of Republika Srpska. ARS Officer Novak Đukić on trial. On May 25, 1995 the Serb army shelled the city of Tuzla and killed 72 people with a single shell.
Korićani Cliffs massacre[citation needed] Crimes against humanity, War crimes (More than 200 men executed.) Serbian reserve police. Darko Mrđa was convicted.
Ahatovići massacre[citation needed] Crimes against humanity, Crime of torture (64 men and boys tortured, 56 killed.) Serb forces. No prosecutions. Rounded up in an attack on a village, they were tortured. Claiming they were going to be exchanged, Serb forces put them on a bus, which they attacked with machineguns and granades on June 14, 1992. 8 survived by hiding under bodies of the dead.
Armed conflict Perpetrator
Bosnian War Croat forces HVO.
Incident Type of crime Persons responsible -
Ahmići[citation needed] Crimes against humanity according to ICTY; Murder of 116 civilians in the village of Ahmići Croatian Defence Council No prosecutions On April 16, 1993, the Croatian Defence Council attacked the village of Ahmići and killed 116 Bosniaks.
Stupni Do[citation needed] Crimes against humanity according to ICTY; Murder of 37 civilians in the village of Stupni Do Croatian Defence Council. No prosecutions. On October 23, 1993, the Croatian Defence Council attacked the village of Stupni do and killed 37 Bosniaks.
Armed conflict perpetrator
Bosnian War HVO and Konjic Territorial Defence (TO)
Incident type of crime Persons responsible -
Čelebići prison camp[citation needed] Crime of torture Konjic defence forces. The commander of the camp Zdravko Mucić and the deputy commander Hazim Delić were sentenced to 9 and 18 years.

[edit] Kosovo War 1998-1999

Armed conflict Perpetrator
Kosovo War Serbian Army, Paramilitary units from Serbia, local Serb police.
Incident Type of crime Persons responsible Notes
Bela Crkva killings[citation needed] Crimes against humanity (Murder of 65 civilians.) Yugoslav military and Serbian police forces. No prosecutions 25 March 1999
Velika and Mala Kruša massacre[citation needed] Crimes against humanity (Massacre of 105 men and boys.) Yugoslav military and Serbian police. No prosecutions 25-26 March 1999; the Serbian police burned the bodies
Đakovica incident[citation needed] Crimes against humanity (Murder of 6 men.) Yugoslav military. No prosecutions 26 March 1999
Berisha incident[citation needed] Crimes against humanity (at least 44 civilians killed, 3 injured) Yugoslav military. No prosecutions 26 March 1999
Padalište killings[citation needed] Crimes against humanity (Murder of around 20 civilians.) Yugoslav military. No prosecutions 26 March 1999
Izbica executions[citation needed] Crimes against humanity (Executions of at least 116 men) Yugoslav military and Serbian police. No prosecutions 27-28 March 1999
Qerim massacre[citation needed] Crimes against humanity (over 50 people killed) Serbian police. No prosecutions 1-2 April 1999; 19 of the victims were women and children
Đakovica assault[citation needed] Crimes against humanity (Murder of up to 300 male civilians.) Yugoslav military. No prosecutions 27 April 1999
Vučitrn assault[citation needed] Crime of genocide, Crimes against humanity (Expulsion of approximately 20,000 people, 104 individuals murdered.) Yugoslav military. No prosecutions 2 May 1999
Dubrava Prison complex[citation needed] Crimes against humanity (Execution of over 50 prisoners.) Serbian prison guard. No prosecutions. 22-23 May 1999
Kačanik assaults[citation needed] Crimes against humanity (over 100 civilians killed) Yugoslav military. No prosecutions March-May 1999; a series of different attacks and massacres in the municipality throughout the war
Kosovo War KLA
Incident type of crime Persons responsible Notes
Llapushnik prison camp[citation needed] War crimes; Crimes against humanity; Crime of torture (inhumane treatment and torture of Serb and Albanian detainees; murder of 11 Albanian prisoners and execution of 21 detainees) KLA prison guard Haradin Bala sentenced to 13 years by the ICTY. Fatmir Limaj and Isak Musliu acquitted a 1998 internment camp for Serbs, Roms and Albanians who wouldn't submit to the KLA; 25-26 July 1998 detainees were thrown off the Berisha mountain
Metohija ethnic cleansing[citation needed] Crimes against humanity (persecution of non-Albanians; at least 39 Serb and Roma civilians) ex KLA Commander and Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, commander of the Black Eagles Idriz Balaj and KLA Deputy Commander Lahi Brahimaj at trial in ICTY 1997-1998; wide-scale ethnic cleansing of western Kosovo, attacks on refugee camps and removal of Serbs, Roms and opposing Albanians
Kosovo War NATO
Incident type of crime Persons responsible Notes
Operation Allied Force [83] War crimes (killing over 500 civilians to airbombing) NATO air forces under Wesley Clark. No prosecutions. 24-10 June 1999

[edit] 1990-2000: Liberia / Sierra Leone

From The Times March 28, 2006 p.43:

"Charles Taylor, the former Liberian President who is one of Africas most wanted men, has gone into hiding in Nigeria to avoid extradition to a UN war crimes tribunal... The UN war crimes tribunal in Sierra Leone holds Mr Taylor responsible for about 250,000 deaths. Throughout the 1990s, his armies and supporters, made up of child soldiers orphaned by the conflict wreaked havoc through a swath of West Africa. In Sierra Leone he supported the Revolutionary United Front (R.U.F) whose rebel fighters were notorious for hacking off the limbs of civilians.
  • Current action - Indicted on 17 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity by the UN, which has issued an international warrant for his arrest. As of April 2006 located, extradited, and facing trial in Sierra Leone but then transferred to The Netherlands as requested by the Liberian government.

[edit] 1990: Invasion of Kuwait

Armed conflict Perpetrator
1990:Invasion of Kuwait Iraq
Incident Type of crime Persons responsible Notes
Invasion of Kuwait[citation needed] Crime against peace ("breach of international peace and security" (UN Security Council Resolution 660)) no prosecutions
[citation needed] War crimes, crimes against humanity no prosecutions country devastated, resources wantonly destroyed

[edit] 1998-2006: Second Congo War

See also: Cases before the International Criminal Court#Democratic Republic of Congo

  • Civil war 1998-2002, est. 5 million deaths; war "sucked in" Rwanda, Uganda, Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia, as well as 17,000 United Nations peacekeepers, its "largest and most costly" peace mission and "the bloodiest conflict since the end of the Second World War."
  • Fighting involves Mai-Mai militia and Congolese government soldiers. The Government originally armed the Mai-Mai as civil defence against external invaders, who then turned to banditry.
  • 100,000 refugees living in remote disease ridden areas to avoid both sides
  • Estimated 1000 deaths a day according to Oxfam:
"The army attacks the local population as it passes through, often raping and pillaging like the militias. Those who resist are branded Mai-mai supporters and face detention or death. The Mai-mai accuse the villagers of collaborating with the army, they return to the villages at night and extract revenge. Sometimes they march the villagers into the bush to work as human mules."[84]
  • In 2003, Sinafasi Makelo, a representative of Mbuti Pygmies, told the UN's Indigenous People's Forum that during the Congo Civil War, his people were hunted down and eaten as though they were game animals. Both sides of the war regarded them as "subhuman". Makelo asked the UN Security Council to recognise cannibalism as a crime against humanity and an act of genocide.[85][86]

[edit] 2003-present: Darfur conflict, War in Chad (2005–present)

  • The entire conflict is allegedly a genocide perpetrated by the involved combatants in Darfur.

[edit] July 2006: Israel, War in Lebanon 2006-present

In August 2006, the UN's Mine Action Coordination Center in Tyre, Lebanon raised an alarm over the post-conflict impact on returning civilians of unexploded cluster bombs used by Israel against Lebanese civilian occupied village areas. Israel has not provided maps to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and Israel's refusal to cooperate with the U.N has further caused diplomatic tension.[citation needed]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ This list is a work in progress and is not complete
  2. ^ Comment by The Times, November 21 2006 p.17, in relation to Jean-Pierre Bemba of the Congo: "There was nothing funny about his soldiers' actions in Eastern Congo... Among the crimes alleged are mass murder, rape and acts of cannibalism. Yet one senior UN diplomat has indicated privately that for the sake of peace, the investigation [by the International Criminal Court] into Bemba's responsibility may be sidelined. It isn't just in Congo that trade-offs are being made. [...] Skeptics point out that those who have stood trial so far have either been defeated in war or are retired and irrelevant. They insist there would be no chance of hauling powerful political figures in Washington and London before a court to answer for their actions..."
  3. ^ Jugement: The Law Relating to War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Staff, Tokyo War Crimes Trial, China News Digest International section "III. The verdict"
  5. ^ HyperWar: International Military Tribunal for the Far East [Chapter 8]
  6. ^ Simon Wiesenthal Center Multimedia Learning Center
  7. ^ Estimate from Snow 2003 via The history of Hong Kong, Economist.com, June 5, 2003, <http://www.economist.com/cities/displaystory.cfm?story_id=1825845> 
  8. ^ Banka Island Massacre (1942)
  9. ^ Himeta, Mitsuyoshi (姫田光義) Concerning the Three Alls Strategy/Three Alls Policy By the Japanese Forces (日本軍による『三光政策・三光作戦をめぐって』), Iwanami Bukkuretto, 1996, Herbert Bix, Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan, HarperCollins, 2001. ISBN 0-06-019314-X, p. 365, citing an order drafted by Ryūkichi Tanaka
  10. ^ ThisIsFolkestone.co.uk
  11. ^ Fall of Ambon Massacred at Laha
  12. ^ Dr Peter Stanley The defence of the 'Malay barrier': Rabaul and Ambon, January 1942 principal historian to Australian War Memorial
  13. ^ Alexandra Massacre. Retrieved on 2005-12-07.
  14. ^ Blackburn, Kevin. "The Collective Memory of the Sook Ching Massacre and the Creation of the Civilian War Memorial of Singapore". Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society 73, 2 (December 2000), 71-90; Kang, Jew Koon. "Chinese in Singapore during the Japanese occupation, 1942-1945." Academic exercise - Dept. of History, National University of Singapore, 1981.
  15. ^ Kangzhan.org article on the Rape of Nanking
  16. ^ Xinhuanet.com article on Changjiao Massacre (in Simplified Chinese) 厂窖惨案一天屠杀一万人
  17. ^ People.com article (in Simplied Chinese) 骇人听闻的厂窖惨案
  18. ^ White, Matthew. Death Tolls for the Man-made Megadeaths of the 20th century. Retrieved on 2007-08-01.
  19. ^ Hal Gold, Unit 731 Testimony, 2003, p.97
  20. ^ Zhifen Ju, Japan's atrocities of conscripting and abusing north China draftees after the outbreak of the Pacific war, 2002.
  21. ^ Daniel Barenblatt, A plague upon Humanity, HarperCollns, 2004, pp.220-222.
  22. ^ a b IV - The Laws and Customs of War on Land in the Avalon Project at Yale Law School
  23. ^ Excerpt, Chapter one The Struggle for Europe: The Turbulent History of a Divided Continent 1945-2002 - William I. Hitchcock - 2003 - ISBN 0-385-49798-9 (No pages cited)
  24. ^ A Terrible Revenge: The Ethnic Cleansing of the East European Germans, 1944-1950 - Alfred-Maurice de Zayas - 1994 - ISBN 0-312-12159-8 (No pages cited)
  25. ^ Barefoot in the Rubble - Elizabeth B. Walter - 1997 - ISBN 0-9657793-0-0 (No pages cited)
  26. ^ Claus-Dieter Steyer, "Stadt ohne Männer" (City without men) , Der Tagesspiegel online June 21 2006 , viewed November 11 2006 at [1]
  27. ^ Antony Beevor They raped every German female from eight to 80 in The Guardian May 1, 2002
  28. ^ Excerpt, Chapter one The Struggle for Europe: The Turbulent History of a Divided Continent 1945-2002 - William I. Hitchcock - 2003 - ISBN 0-385-49798-9 (No pages cited)
  29. ^ A Terrible Revenge: The Ethnic Cleansing of the East European Germans, 1944-1950 - Alfred-Maurice de Zayas - 1994 - ISBN 0-312-12159-8 (No pages cited)
  30. ^ Barefoot in the Rubble - Elizabeth B. Walter - 1997 - ISBN 0-9657793-0-0 (No pages cited)
  31. ^ a b Judgement: Doenitz the Avalon Project at the Yale Law School
  32. ^ Shimoda et al. v. The State, Tokyo District Court, 7 December 1963
  33. ^ Falk, Richard A.. "The Claimants of Hiroshima", The Nation, 1965-02-15.  reprinted in (1966) "The Shimoda Case: Challenge and Response", in Richard A. Falk, Saul H. Mendlovitz eds.: The Strategy of World Order. Volume: 1. New York: World Law Fund, pp. 307-13. 
  34. ^ International Review of the Red Cross no 323, p.347-363 The Law of Air Warfare (1998)
  35. ^ John Bolton The Risks and Weaknesses of the International Criminal Court from America's Perspective, (page 4) Law and Contemporary Problems January 2001, while US ambassador to the United Nations
  36. ^ U.S. (and French) abuse of German PoWs, 1945-1948
  37. '^ Xavier Guillaume, "A Heterology of American GIs during World War II". H-US-Japan (July, 2003). Access date: January 4, 2008.
  38. ^ James J. Weingartner “Trophies of War: U.S. Troops and the Mutilation of Japanese War Dead, 1941 – 1945” Pacific Historical Review (1992)
  39. ^ Simon Harrison “Skull Trophies of the Pacific War: transgressive objects of remembrance” Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (N.S) 12, 817-836 (2006)
  40. ^ James J. Weingartner “Trophies of War: U.S. Troops and the Mutilation of Japanese War Dead, 1941 – 1945” Pacific Historical Review (1992) p.59
  41. ^ see the article Foibe massacres, (lots of references but no citations)
  42. ^ Words from the article Bleiburg massacre, (lots of references no citations)
  43. ^ Editorial The Jamaat Talks Backin The Bangladesh Observer December 30, 2005
  44. ^ Dr. N. Rabbee Remembering a Martyr Star weekend Magazine, The [[Daily Star (Bangladesh)|]] December 16, 2005
  45. ^ Hamoodur Rahman Commission, Chapter 2, Paragraph 33
  46. ^ F. Hossain Genocide 1971 Correspondence with the Guinness Book of Records on the number of dead
  47. ^ U.S. Consulate (Dacca) Cable, Sitrep: Army Terror Campaign Continues in Dacca; Evidence Military Faces Some Difficulties Elsewhere, March 31, 1971, Confidential, 3 pp
  48. ^ Debasish Roy Chowdhury 'Indians are bastards anyway' in Asia Times June 23, 2005 "In Against Our Will: Men, Women and Rape, Susan Brownmiller likens it to the Japanese rapes in Nanjing and German rapes in Russia during World War II. "... 200,000, 300,000 or possibly 400,000 women (three sets of statistics have been variously quoted) were raped.""
  49. ^ Brownmiller, Susan, "Against Our Will: Men, Women, and Rape" ISBN 0-449-90820-8, page 81
  50. ^ Hamoodur Rahman Commission, Chapter 2, Paragraphs 32,34
  51. ^ Blood, Archer, Transcript of Selective Genocide Telex, Department of State, United States
  52. ^ Ajoy Roy, "Homage to my martyr colleagues", 2002
  53. ^ Shahiduzzaman No count of the nation’s intellectual loss The New Age, December 15, 2005
  54. ^ Killing of Intellectuals Asiatic Society of Bangladesh
  55. ^ Link to article by the Star-Ledger
  56. ^ Dutch court says gassing of Iraqi Kurds was 'genocide' by Anne Penketh and Robert Verkaik in The Independent December 24, 2005
  57. ^ Dutch man sentenced for role in gassing death of Kurds CBC December 23, 2005
  58. ^ The LRA is described by sources such as The Times as a "cannibalistic cult that has slaughtered whole villages and left its victims without hands, feet or faces".[2]
  59. ^ ICTY, Prosecutor against Vojislav Šešelj, 15 January 2003
  60. ^ Two jailed over Croatia massacre, BBC News, 27 September 2007, accessed 28 September 2007
  61. ^ (Croatian) Državno odvjetništvo RH Priopćenje povodom obilježavanja 16. obljetnice pogibije 39 branitelja u Dalju
  62. ^ (Croatian) Državno odvjetništvo RH Priopćenje povodom obilježavanja 16. obljetnice pogibije 39 branitelja u Dalju
  63. ^ (Croatian) Link leading to a downloadable booklet "Krvava Istina o Lovasu" ("Bloody Truth on Lovas")
  64. ^ a b c d http://www.un.org/icty/pressreal/2007/pr1162e.htm Summary of judgement: Milan Martić sentenced to 35 years for crimes against humanity and war crimes
  65. ^ ICTY, case Milan Martić, summary of judgement
  66. ^ Summary of judgement: the case of Milan Martić
  67. ^ The battle of Dubrovnik, Final report of the United Nations Commission of Experts
  68. ^ Šešelj Indictment
  69. ^ ICTY, case Milan Martić, summary of judgement
  70. ^ Prosecutors Seek Life Sentence for War Crimes Suspect Martic. Voice of America (2007-01-10). Retrieved on 2007-06-12.
  71. ^ References in the article
  72. ^ http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/comexpert/ANX/IV.htm
  73. ^ References in the article
  74. ^ http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/comexpert/ANX/IV.htm
  75. ^ References in the article
  76. ^ References in the article
  77. ^ CROATIA HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1993
  78. ^ References in the article
  79. ^ References in the article
  80. ^ References in the article
  81. ^ Federal Commission for Missing Persons; "Preliminary List of Missing and Killed in Srebrenica"; 2005 [3]PDF (522 KiB). The list is discussed here and the identification process here
  82. ^ Fish, Jim. (February 5, 2004). Sarajevo massacre remembered. BBC.
  83. ^ Civilian Deaths in the NATO Air Campaign - The Crisis in Kosovo
  84. ^ The Times World News, April 3 2006, p.29)
  85. ^ DR Congo pygmies 'exterminated'
  86. ^ DR Congo Pygmies appeal to UN

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[edit] External links

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