War Crimes and Genocide

War crimes are some of the most serious violations of international law. They are committed during armed conflict and can involve both parties to the war. They are covered by international humanitarian law, which is based on the laws and customs of war established through the Geneva Conventions, the precedents of the Nuremberg Tribunals, and, more recently, by the statutes of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

Crimes of war include murder and other violent attacks on civilian populations during armed conflict; rape and other severe forms of sexual violence; pillaging; enforced disappearance; the destruction of property not used for military purposes; and deportation, forcible transfer or confinement. Perpetrators of these crimes can be prosecuted in national courts, but may also face international tribunals like the ICTY.

Genocide is a separate category of crime that involves the deliberate and systematic attempt to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group. It was coined in 1943 by the Jewish-Polish lawyer Raphael Lemkin after his experience witnessing the Holocaust in World War II, and became a key part of international law following the founding of the United Nations.

Congress has long underscored the importance of preventing atrocities and punishing those responsible when this proves impossible, as embodied in the 2018 Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocity Prevention Act. The FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act includes language that requires the State Department, in coordination with DOD and USAID, to incorporate atrocity risk assessment and mitigation of fragility into country strategy development and security assistance cooperation.