War Crimes

Interlinked Thematic Vocabulary Unit Nº 321 v.01

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     Main Definitions

1. war crime |n| an act carried out during the conduct of a war that violates accepted international rules of war.
2. "This is considered a war crime, and those responsible for it must be held accountable."
3. "According to the new provisions, it is punishable as a war crime to recruit or use children under the age of 18 years in armed forces."
4. "If they deliberately target civilians there is no doubt that this act constitutes a war crime."
5. human rights |n| are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status. Human rights include the right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and expression, the right to work and education, and many more. Everyone is entitled to these rights, without discrimination.
6. "Israel is guilty of a great many war crimes, as confirmed by the reports of Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch."
7. "Global growth and support for democracy, respect for human rights and individual liberties has stagnated."
8. "To date more than 60 international human rights treaties have been ratified."
9. "Groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch fear they may have to close their Russian offices."
10. genocide |n| the deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular ethnic group or nation.
11. "The answer to how people or states convince themselves to commit murder or genocide is complex."
12. "He was referring to the genocide of Muslims during the Bosnian War."
13. "Al-Bashir, in power since 1989, is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of genocide in Darfur."
14. genocidal |adj| relating to or involving the deliberate killing of a large group of people of a particular nation or ethnic group.
15. "His genocidal regime was responsible for over two million deaths."
16. "After centuries of a genocidal and ethnocidal colonization process, the Brazilian indigenous population was brutally reduced."
17. "Despite such attempts, the 20th century has witnessed the most brutal wars and the development and use of genocidal weapons of mass destruction."

     Main Elements Related to War Crimes

1. forensic |adj| relating to or denoting the application of scientific methods and techniques to the investigation of crime.
2. "A medical-forensic expert concluded that the death of Ms. Khairulina occurred as a consequence of "mechanical asphyxia".
3. "But at no stage did he communicate the location of her grave or request the exhumation of her body and a forensic medical examination."
4. "Request support for identifying victims from experienced human rights-related forensics organisations such as the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team and the International Commission on Missing Persons."
5. mass-grave |n| a grave containing many human corpses, either as the result of natural disaster or war.
6. "Forensic experts should also be called to examine clandestine or mass graves."
7. "In that vein, the United Kingdom commends recent cooperation on missing persons, which has led to the discovery of a mass grave in Serbia."
8. "On the same day, in the vicinity of Mujat Mahala (Multinational Task Force East), a suspected mass grave was found by the Kosovo Police Service and a KFOR patrol."
9. "It will involve the opening of a mass grave and the identification of the victims."
10. refugee camp |n| a refugee camp is intended as a temporary accommodation for people who have been forced to flee their home because of violence and persecution.
11. "In the meantime, social mobilization activities to promote peace took place inside Somalia and in a refugee camp in Kenya."
12. "In the Jabaliya refugee camp alone, more than 90 homes had been destroyed and more than 100 damaged, affecting some 1,500 people."
13. "In a refugee camp, for example, the possibilities and risks of intervention are very different to those in a community located in a war zone."
14. displaced person / refugee |n| a person who is forced to leave their home country because of war or persecution; a refugee.
15. "Refugee protection was an obligation and not a choice."
16. "Consider the possibility of adding temporary classrooms onto existing schools to accommodate refugee children where possible."
17. "The standard of hygiene in collective centres or refugee settlements influences not only people's health, but also their psychosocial well-being."

     People

1. war criminal |n| an individual who has committed a war crime.
2. "This will be so particularly in relation to the arrest of the indicted war criminal General Mladic."
3. "Let us be clear. Mr Tony Blair is a war criminal."
4. "After World War II, Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann fled from Austria and made his way to Argentina where he lived under the name Ricardo Klement."
5. dictator |n| a ruler with total power over a country, typically one who has obtained control by force.
6. "In the worse situations, if a dictator comes to power and democracy is abolished, then that leader can cause irreversible damage to the country and its people."
7. "This concentration of power suited the needs of a dictator who wanted to control rather than serve the people of Iraq."
8. "The Special Rapporteur discusses recent practice and the developments related to the case of the former dictator of Chad, Hissène Habré."