Report covering 23 conflicts over last 18 months concludes more than 100,000 civilians have been killed as war crimes rage out of control
An authoritative survey of 23 armed conflicts over the last 18 months has concluded that international law seeking to limit the effects of war is at breaking point, with more than 100,000 civilians killed, while torture and rape are committed with near impunity.
The extensive study by the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights describes the deaths of 18,592 children in Gaza, growing civilian casualties in Ukraine and an “epidemic” of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Such is the scale of violations, and the lack of consistent international efforts to prevent them, that the study, entitled War Watch, concludes that international humanitarian law is at “a critical breaking point”.
Stuart Casey-Maslen, the lead author, said: “Atrocity crimes are being repeated because past ones were tolerated. Our actions – or inaction – will determine whether international humanitarian law vanishes altogether.”
