A war crime is a crime that happens in a war.  There are international laws of war that say what people can do during wars and what they cannot do. A war crime breaks these rules.

Today, these rules are international laws called the Geneva Conventions and the Hague Convention.

Definition
To be a war crime, a crime must be part of a plan, or the crime has to be committed against many people.

The idea of what a "war crime" is has changed over time.  For example, during World War I, using poison gas in combat was not thought of as a war crime.  Now it is.

In 2002, the International Criminal Court (ICC) was created. Its goal is to look into and, if possible, punish people for war crimes.  When the ICC was created, it came up with a longer list of war crimes.  For example, its list was the first one to include types of sexual abuse like forcing women into sexual slavery.pp. 8–10

Types of war crimes

Here are some examples of crimes that the ICC lists as war crimes.

General war crimes 

These are war crimes whether they are committed against enemy soldiers or civilians or neutral persons.
 Torture
 Causing "great suffering" (severe physical or mental pain) on purpose
 Doing medical experiments on a person that will hurt them
 Destroying or stealing property
 Taking hostages
 Using chemical weapons, biological weapons, or other weapons that are illegal under international law
 Keeping a person in jail, sentencing them, or executing them without a trial
 Willful attacks on neutral persons, property, or territory

Sexual war crimes 
These are war crimes whether they are committed against enemy soldiers or civilians or neutral persons.
 Rape
 Sexual slavery
 Forcing a person to be a prostitute
 Forcing a woman to get pregnant
 Forcing a person to get sterilized
 Sexual violence (which includes all other types of sexual abuse and sexual assault)

War crimes against civilians 
War crimes against civilians include:
 Attacking civilians, killing them, or destroying their property
 Making an attack that is obviously going to kill and injure many civilians
 Forcing civilians to leave their home countries
 Attacking places like religious buildings, schools, and hospitals, which have nothing to do with war
 Starving civilians on purpose, as a way of making war
 Forcing children to become soldiers
 Mutilating a civilian (for example, by cutting off an arm or hurting them in other ways that will show forever)

War crimes against enemy soldiers 
War crimes against enemy soldiers include:
 Hurting or killing a person who is unable to fight (for example, because they are injured or sick)
 Hurting or killing a person who has surrendered
 Hurting or killing a person who is clearly a military medic or a chaplain
 Tricking enemy soldiers by using a flag to signal a truce, then attacking
 Using flags, insignia, or uniforms worn by enemy soldiers or the United Nations as a disguise while attacking
 Killing prisoners of war

War crimes against neutral persons 
War crimes against neutral persons include:
 Hurting or killing a person who is a peacekeeper
 Hurting or killing a person whose country is not participating in an armed conflict (for example, a neutral warship in belligerent waters)

Examples of war crimes

This table shows some examples of war crimes.

Photo gallery

Related pages
 Crimes against humanity
 Geneva Conventions
 Hague Convention
 Command responsibility

References