By Editorial Board
The current war on Ukraine is an atrocious act of humanity. After almost a century since the end of the Second World War, society has made significant progress towards world peace. However, we have backtracked since the beginning of 2022. How is it possible that we continue to let cultural imperialism roam free? Allowing the fundamentally flawed concept of social hierarchies and the cycle of oppression to reign unchallenged? As long as the conflict prolongs, human lives are in the hands of injustice.
Since the beginning of the Russo-Ukraine war, there have been multiple allegations made against the Russian government and its military force on apparent instances of war crimes. However, the United Nations have yet to make a statement solidifying these accusations. The Rome Statute of the International Crime Court details the provisions of the 1949 Geneva Convention, outlining clauses that highlight violations, and define war crimes. This includes:
1. Wilful killing
2. Torture or inhuman treatment, including biological experiments;
3. Wilfully causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or health;
4. Extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out
unlawfully and wantonly;
5. Compelling a prisoner of war or other protected person to serve in the forces or a hostile power;
6. Wilfully depriving a prisoner of war or other protected person of the rights of fair and regular trial;
7. Unlawful deportation or transfer or unlawful confinement;
8. Taking hostages
(Further information can be found on https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/war-crimes.shtml)
The Russian military has seemingly committed acts of barbarity on civilian-occupied zones with the intent to harm, the intent to kill. The wilful killings of Ukraine civilians in towns surrounding the capital, Kyiv are only the surface of their crimes. From unlawful airstrikes in Borodyanka to the bombing of a maternity hospital in Mariupol, this has caused uncontrollable rampant chaos and total destruction to the area’s infrastructure. They have left a trail of blood and suffering during the advancement of this invasion. This will only go on if Russia is not held responsible for these treacherous actions.
Many are urging the international government to investigate the actions of the Russian forces as war crimes. With these ongoing circumstances, justice for thousands of victims continues to be delayed. Do we continue to mask the truth behind these actions and simply call it morality? The global community must employ all methods to put an end to this massacre, no matter the economic ramifications. We must place the survival of human lives above monetary gain.