War crimes- GS

I was asked to talk about war crimes and how they can translate to Civ 5. I came up blank on the first day, but after a little research I found some things to talk about. War crimes were solidified by the Geneva convention after world WWII. They were established to limit the brutalities of war, so that things like the holocaust would never happen again. The basic rules are that you are not allowed to attack people that are not part of the war (civilians) or are out of combat (wounded, sick, prisoners). It also limits the use of indiscriminate weapons like landmines, cluster bombs or chemical weapons. The reason for that is that they cause damage that can't be controlled creating a threat to civilian lives.

In Civ 5 you can see these crimes made all the time. For example, in the game of my friend, someone shot and killed a missionary. This is a war crime because people that are not part of the war have been harmed. In Civ the use of some weapons, for example Nuclear bombs, is a war crime. These are indiscriminate weapons because they kill everything: units, crops, animals, civilians. They cannot be controlled like archers or tanks. The damage is more random and dangerous to everything.

(Nuclear bombs)

The reason these actions have no repercussions on the player is that you can't see the population. It is a number you are killing, not a man, woman or a child. This is a problem video game can't solve because you can't make the game seem human enough that it gives the same feeling as in real life. This makes war crimes feel like a normal action you would do on any other turn. It's a flaw that could maybe be solved by having a consequence for war crimes.

(Sorry, could not find good images)

In class we are talking about the Palestinian Israelis war. I was asked to try and find war crimes the two countries committed. I found that both sides did not respect the fact that civilians should not be harmed in war. They both bomb civilians and civilian property. Just browse around the web and you will find millions of examples of how innocent people were killed in these attacks. Things like this should not happen, but the Geneva convention can only do so much to stop the horrors that happen in wars. The only thing we can do is hope that people will use their humanity to see that what they're doing is wrong.


Here is some really bias, propaganda from both sides: