Why is no one in the international community doing anything decisive to meet the challenges to human rights and humanitarian law from the bloody end to Sri Lanka’s civil war? asks Jake Lynch, director, Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Sydney.
War crimes
4 Corners Sri Lanka documentary provokes mixed response
Some local Sri Lankan communities are claiming last night’s airing of Channel 4’s highly graphic documentary “Sri Lankas Killing Fields” on 4 Corners provides an opportunity for a renewed conversation despite a highly varied response.
Will Mladic be the cue for EU-Serbia embrace?
The theory that Ratko Mladic was resigned to his extradition and prosecution for war crimes and would probably go quietly was dented a little when his lawyers lodged an appeal to Serbia’s war crimes court.
Guy Rundle: Rundle: Mladic’s deserved reckoning and the theatre of EU justice
Mladić deserves a reckoning, but the whole process of EU justice will simply extend the theatre — since any fair assessment should have put Croatia’s Franjo Tudjman and his epigones in the dock too.
Murder, conspiracy, war crimes and a death count tattoo
An American investigation into war crimes in Afghanistan has resulted in five soldiers being charged with conspiring to murder unarmed civilians. One of them, Staff Sgt. Calvin R. Gibbs, has a tattoo that keeps count of his victims.
How journalists are letting NATO get away with murder
NATO and US forces are committing and covering-up atrocities in Afghanistan, but the embedded journalists there are so dependent on them for access and security, nothing is being reported, reveals war reporter Jeremy Starkey in a blistering attack.
revealed 
The secret US “black jail” in Afghanistan
The US is holding detainees in isolated, windowless concrete cells at Bagram Air Base, sometimes for weeks at a time, without access to the International Committee of the Red Cross, according to former inmates and human rights workers.
Is Tony Blair a war criminal?
With the Chilcot Inquiry into Britain’s involvement in the Iraq war soon to go public, one big question must be answered, says Oliver Miles: was this a war of aggression and therefore a war crime?
Former British Corporal: My entire unit abused Iraqi civilians
A former British soldier convicted of war crimes in Iraq claims his entire unit physically abused Iraqi detainees, kicking and punching them while down, threatening to set them alight and holding guns to their heads.
The last great Nazi trial
In November, former Nazi concentration camp guard John Demjanjuk will appear before a Munich court, charged with 27,900 counts of accessory to murder. With time running out to prosecute other ex-Nazis, the case marks the end of an era in world history.
FAQ: What exactly is a war crime? Who lays down the law?
Both Israel and Palestine have been accused of committing war crimes in Gaza. But just what constitutes a “crime” in a state of war? And who makes up the rules?
UN: Israel and Hamas guilty of war crimes
A UN fact-finding mission has accused both Israel and Palestine of committing war crimes in Gaza, with the former shelling civilian hospitals with white phosphorus and the latter wreaking terror with rockets.
Power to the people: forgive the tyrants
Forgiveness of a dictator and ensuring an end to their actions is more crucial than prosecuting them for war crimes, writes Sholto Byrnes. Refusing to seek vengeance shows victims “to be better than their oppressors”.
Guy Rundle: Inglourious basterd Scheungraber captured. Hooray?
Germany has captured another Nazi war criminal: Josef Scheungraber, 90, has been sentenced to life imprisonment. It’s undoubtedly right and proper to bring justice to these war crimes, says Guy Rundle — but only if justice is actually possible.
Israeli Gaza soldiers’ testimonies trigger furious reaction
Israeli soldiers who fought in the 2008 Gaza War say gross crimes were committed against civilians as a result of Israels lax military discipline.
An African autocrat takes the stand
Former Liberian president Charles Taylor’s trial represents the first time that an African leader has been brought to account before an international tribunal.
Justice looms for the torture team
The chance of an American president allowing the domestic prosecution of his predecessors for war crimes is essentially zero. American politics just doesn’t work that way.
Is Israel committing war crimes?
Israel has a poor recent track record when it comes to ensuring its actions are compatible with international human rights standards, writes Greg Barns.
