War Crimes

This message comes from Progressive Insurance. Progressive makes it easy to see if you could save when you bundle your home and auto policies. Try it at progressive.com. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states. In the beginning, there was only darkness. Until one day, the breath of life proved ready. And the Egyptian sun god Ra emerged and bathed the world in light. But the days were not endless. At sunset, Ra descended into the underworld where every night the giant serpent, Apep, would attack Ra's heavenly barge, intent on destroying all life and plunging the world into darkness. And every night, Ra would vanquish the serpent, ensuring that the sun would rise at dawn. Thereby in this action or this act of of slaying, Ra was able to create the cosmos. This is Michael Bryant. A professor of history and legal studies at Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island. The story of Ra's nightly battle created order in the world for ancient Egyptians, including for the pharaoh, Ra's avatar on Earth. The enemies of the pharaoh were likened to night into disorder and chaos. And, of course, the pharaoh and his army was was then considered to be on the side of Ra. Which meant that violence, loss, and death in times of war could be divinely justified. But, of course, this has very little to do with the humanitarian sort of motive that that guides our modern understanding of international law and of war crimes today. Since the eighteen hundreds, there's been an international attempt to make sense of war and constrain its horrors by codifying the rules of war and establishing boundaries over what is and isn't acceptable. A war crime is a serious violation committed during a time of armed conflict. This is David Bosco. He's the author of Rough Justice, the International Criminal Court in a World of Power Politics. And it can involve, a lot of different things, including, you know, abusing a prisoner of war, attacking civilians, using certain types of weapons, torture, etcetera. I think at the most basic level, the very concept of war crimes are violations, which are widely acknowledged as being abhorrent. But what is abhorrent? Who decides? And who's legally held to account? News from the International Criminal Court, which is a global human rights court in The Hague in The Netherlands. It has announced it is seeking arrest warrants for leaders of both Hamas and Israel. Dozens of countries have taken the floor at the United Nations top court in The Hague to insist that Ukraine has the legal right to sue Russia for genocide. Today, the United Nations highest court ordered Israel to cease its offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafa. President Trump has signed an executive order to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court whose jurisdiction it does not recognize. International courts have made headlines a lot in recent years, including issuing and …