War crimes
At the heart of the concept of war crimes is the idea that an individual can be held responsible for the actions of a country or that nation's soldiers. Genocide, crimes against humanity, mistreatment of civilians or combatants during war can all fall under the category of war crimes. Genocide is the most severe of these crimes. In the context of war, a war crime is a punishable offence under international law, for violations of the laws of war by any person or persons, military or civilian. War crimes can be committed during international armed conflict or internal armed conflict.
The statute of The Hague tribunal defines crime against humanity as crimes committed in armed conflict but directed against a civilian population. A list of examples is given in article 5: Murder, Extermination, Enslavement, Deportation, Imprisonment, Torture, Rape, Persecutions on political, racial and religious grounds.
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