Crimes of War: What the Public Should Know

The invasion of Iraq by a U.S.-led coalition has heightened interest throughout the world in the so-called rules of war. Codified in the Geneva Conventions in the wake of the humanitarian atrocities of World War II, these rules are intended to regulate conduct by combatants toward civilians and prisoners of war, among other specific individuals and groups. Violations of the standards were alleged—particularly regarding the treatment of coalition prisoners—within the first few days of the Iraq conflict in March 2003.

The Crimes of War Project, an OSI grantee, provides a comprehensive history and explanation of war crimes standards in Crimes of War: What the Public Should Know. Edited by Roy Gutman and David Rieff and first published in 1999 in English, the book contains articles and legal analysis by many of the world's leading journalists and jurists who try to simplify the complex issues surrounding war crimes. The book has been translated into the following languages: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Russian, and Spanish.

Click here for more information about Crimes of War: What the Public Should Know.

Information about the recently published Arabic version is available (in Arabic) at http://www.crimesofwar.org/arabic.

For more information about the Crimes of War Project, visit www.crimesofwar.org.