war crimes
war crimesCertain activities in war that violate the established rules of warfare, as set out in the Hague and Geneva Conventions . In most societies, such activities as the killing of prisoners, their torture or enslavement, hostage‐taking, and the deportation and killing of civilians are deemed to be war crimes. Present‐day attitudes to war crimes have been influenced by the trials at Nuremberg and Tokyo in 1945 – 46 of German and Japanese wartime leaders. In the course of these proceedings, it was made clear that an individual was to be held responsible for his or her actions even if carrying out the orders of a higher authority. During the Vietnam War ( 1964 –...
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