Torture & War Crimes

List of Torture & War Crimes articles

People’s Revolution party activists hold placards during a demonstration in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Aug. 11.
People’s Revolution party activists hold placards during a demonstration in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Aug. 11.

Congress Wants to Hold Sri Lanka’s Feet to the Fire on Human Rights

The United Nations has given the international community the greenlight to punish Sri Lanka for torture. Congress has taken it.

A Saudi man wearing a white traditional headdress walks past a framed Andy Warhol artwork.
A Saudi man wearing a white traditional headdress walks past a framed Andy Warhol artwork.

Saudi Arabia Really Wants You to Think It’s Cool

The desert kingdom’s rebranding project goes way beyond sportswashing. But it’s all a little too contrived.

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko points while speaking to foreign media. Lukashenko is a large man with white hair and a mustache and wears a dark blue suit as he sits in a chair in front of a Belarusian flag.
Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko points while speaking to foreign media. Lukashenko is a large man with white hair and a mustache and wears a dark blue suit as he sits in a chair in front of a Belarusian flag.

Belarus Is Abducting Ukrainian Children in Plain Sight

A trail of evidence on social networks and state media detail Minsk’s role in a potential war crime

A man and woman stand in front of a large outdoor wall installation featuring silver-colored plaques inscribed with names.
A man and woman stand in front of a large outdoor wall installation featuring silver-colored plaques inscribed with names.

Russia Is Attempting Genocide in Ukraine

Other states have a legal and moral duty to stop Moscow.

People protest Russian war crimes in Ukraine while in Vienna.
People protest Russian war crimes in Ukraine while in Vienna.

Putin Wanted by ICC Over Alleged War Crimes

The court has issued arrest warrants for the Russian president and another senior official over the forcible deportation of Ukrainian children.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is seen before a meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Jan. 12.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is seen before a meeting at the Prime Minister's Office in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Jan. 12.

Ethiopia Is Not Ready for Transitional Justice

Washington should not engage with the country’s government unless it pursues accountability for war crimes.

Josep Borrell stands in front of a microphone in front of a blue backdrop that reads "Supporting the future of Syria and the region"
Josep Borrell stands in front of a microphone in front of a blue backdrop that reads "Supporting the future of Syria and the region"

Is the EU Starting to Wobble on Freezing Out Assad?

Cracks have begun to emerge between EU member states on Syria policy.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands at the start of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, on May 15, 2017.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands at the start of the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, on May 15, 2017.

How Putin and Xi Are Trying to Break Global Human Rights

In their own way, Russia and China are threatening the world’s system for defending human rights.

Members of the Ukrainian State Emergency Service rest.
Members of the Ukrainian State Emergency Service rest.

Forest of the Dead

Another mass grave in Ukraine reveals the horrors of Russia’s occupation.

A police officer oversees the exhumation of three bodies.
A police officer oversees the exhumation of three bodies.

How to Prosecute Russia’s War Crimes

A new initiative centers justice in Ukraine itself.

A woman watches a video that shows the execution of Bosnia Muslims from Srebrenica by Serbian paramilitaries in 1995.
A woman watches a video that shows the execution of Bosnia Muslims from Srebrenica by Serbian paramilitaries in 1995.

Scenes From Hell

A disturbing video out of Ukraine evokes similar scenes from Srebrenica.

A visitor at the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin on Sept. 25, 2019.
A visitor at the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin on Sept. 25, 2019.

Germany Has Confronted Its Past. Now It Must Confront the Present.

Accepting—or rejecting—historical guilt for past evils doesn’t absolve nations of present-day responsibility.

Smoke rises from the grounds of the Azovstal steel plant amid the ongoing Russian military action in Mariupol, Ukraine, on April 29.
Smoke rises from the grounds of the Azovstal steel plant amid the ongoing Russian military action in Mariupol, Ukraine, on April 29.

Destroying the Environment Is a War Crime, Too

Beneath the human catastrophe Russia has inflicted on Ukraine is an array of environmental disasters that will impact generations to come.

Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, visits a mass grave in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, on April 13.
Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, visits a mass grave in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, on April 13.

Can Plea Bargains Save the ICC?

Negotiated settlements would allow the court to go after more bad actors and could even mitigate further atrocities.

Shishimarin with a shaved head and wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt looks down as his image is reflected in the plexiglass holding cell.
Shishimarin with a shaved head and wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt looks down as his image is reflected in the plexiglass holding cell.

The Reckoning for War Crimes in Ukraine Has Begun

What do the first convictions of Russian servicemen hold for the future?

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