The DONARE FAQs present a selection of frequently asked questions about International Humanitarian Law (IHL), clarifying some of the rules that apply in armed conflict and their relevance for humanitarian work.
Russian authorities have committed a wide range of violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law in various regions of Ukraine and in Russia, many of which amount to war crimes, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine said in a new report Thursday. The war crimes include attacks on civilians and energy-related infrastructure, willful killings, torture and inhuman treatment, unlawful confinement, rape and unlawful transfers and deportations of children from Ukraine to the Russian Federation.
Israeli government and military authorities are responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during military operations and attacks in Gaza since October 7, 2023, the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel said in a report released Wednesday. The Commission also found that Palestinian non-state armed groups are responsible for war crimes committed in Israel.
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A new report by the United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR) released on Friday accuses all parties involved in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) eastern provinces of North and South Kivu of committing severe violations of international humanitarian law that may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. The report comes as continued violence in the eastern part of the country continues to claim civilian lives and cause new displacement.
War crimes are serious violations of the laws and customs of war, also known as International Humanitarian Law (IHL), that give rise to individual criminal responsibility. They are defined in various international treaties and agreements, most notably the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols, as well as the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Crimes against humanity are certain acts that are deliberately committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population. These crimes are defined in international law and are considered among the most serious of international crimes. Crimes against humanity are defined in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which lists several acts that constitute these crimes “when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against any civilian population.”
A group of Sudanese rights and professional bodies has accused both warring parties in Sudan of committing atrocities that could be prosecuted as war crimes and crimes against humanity. In a petition addressed to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, the coalition called for an investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine says there is a growing body of evidence of war crimes and possible crimes against humanity committed by Russia in its war of aggression against Ukraine. In its oral update, which was delivered to the UN Human Rights Council Monday, the commission presented a picture of widespread violations and abuse against the civilian population and of wanton, large-scale destruction of essential infrastructure.
A report presented Thursday to the United Nations Human Rights Council accuses all parties to the conflict in northern Ethiopia of widespread atrocities, many amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity, despite a peace agreement signed nearly a year ago. The report from the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia documents wide-ranging atrocities committed since the conflict between the government and the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front (TPLF) erupted November 3, 2020.
United Nations investigators have accused Russian authorities of violating basic human rights principles and causing untold suffering to Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians by subjecting them to appalling treatment. The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine released its latest report to the UN Human Rights Council on Friday.
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A report by the UN human rights office accuses both of Sudan’s warring parties of committing horrific violations and abuses against the country’s civilian population, “some of which may amount to war crimes and possibly other serious crimes under international law.” The UN report holds the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) responsible for the killings of at least 14,600 civilians and the forced displacement of more than 8 million people both inside Sudan and as refugees in five neighboring countries.
The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine concludes in a new report released Wednesday that Russian armed forces have committed crimes against humanity by murdering civilians with drones. The report states that the drone attacks have been widespread and systematic, and have been conducted as part of a coordinated state policy. These findings come as Russian airstrikes continue to kill and maim civilians, including children, and destroy civilian infrastructure.
While there is no legally binding definition, ethnic cleansing can be described as the systematic and deliberate process of removing or displacing a particular ethnic, racial, or religious group from a specific geographic area. This can be done through a variety of means, including
Amid the unimaginable suffering faced by Palestinians in Gaza, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Monday called for restraint in light of the Israeli military incursion into the city of Rafah. Warning of the risk of further atrocity crimes committed by Israeli forces in the Gaza war, the UN rights chief also urged Israel to comply with legally binding orders from the International Court of Justice and to respect the full range of international humanitarian law.
Established in 2002 under the multilateral Rome Statute, the International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and international court based in The Hague, the Netherlands. The ICC, which has 125 state parties, the majority of the world's states, is independent but is supported by the United Nations General Assembly.
Genocide is a term used to describe violent crimes committed against a group with the intent to destroy the existence of the group, in whole or in part. The United Nations Genocide Convention, adopted in 1948, provides a legal definition of genocide as any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, strongly condemned the United States government’s decision to impose sanctions on four International Criminal Court (ICC) judges. On Friday, Türk called the sanctions “deeply corrosive of good governance and the due administration of justice” and urged the United States to promptly reconsider and withdraw them.
A humanitarian catastrophe is a humanitarian crisis (or emergency) where widespread loss of life, threat to life, and human suffering on an immense scale occur - often over a short period of time. Such events result typically from violence involving armed actors (like states and non-state armed groups), leading to hunger, displacement, disease, and lack of access to essential resources like safe water and shelter. Natural disasters can also cause humanitarian catastrophes such as famine.
