Ask experts regarding the effectiveness of international organizations and international law, the evils of the veto system, and the issues of UN reform.
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Detain Mr Putin and impose appropriate penalties. According to Masahiko Asada, a professor at Doshisha University, who specializes in international law and has been appointed as a member of the United Nations International Law Commission, it is not easy to make it a reality. Even if such a tragedy in Ukraine is shown, it is the limit that can stand up to the international community. I asked Professor Asada how to accept this reality, which even makes me feel frustrated. (Interviewer, Tatsuro Kawai, freelance writer)
──The terrible situation in Ukraine has been reported. Please tell us how Russian acts are evaluated from the perspective of international law.
Masahiko Asada (hereinfollowing referred to as Asada):It can be said that there are many acts that violate international law, centering on the provisions of the Geneva Conventions Additional Protocol, which stipulates the rules for war.
First, attacks on non-combatant civilians are prohibited. Unbalanced situations, such as too many casualties due to collusion, once morest military interests are considered indiscriminate attacks and are also prohibited.
In particular, attacks on places such as hospitals, schools and private residences are explicitly prohibited. It has been reported that Russian soldiers are shipping goods such as air conditioners and liquor from the occupied territories to their home countries, but such looting is also prohibited.
The difference between international law violations and war crimes
Asada:These are acts that violate treaties and international law, but violations of treaties do not impose penalties on their own. “Crime” with punishment is listed in the International Criminal Court (ICC) Regulations.
The ICC’s target crimes are broadly classified into four categories: “genocide crimes,” “crimes once morest humanity,” “war crimes,” and “crime of aggression.” This time, I think it is quite possible that Russian acts fall under the category of “war crimes” and “crimes once morest humanity.”
War crimes include attacks on schools and hospitals, and deliberate attacks on civilians. Crimes once morest humanity include murder, deportation, rape and persecution of civilians. Crimes once morest humanity are considered “widespread or systematic” in that they can be war crimes even if they are done by a soldier.
── President Zelensky describes the mass murder of Ukrainian people by Russia as “genocide.”
