Protection of Civilians Military Reference Guide
( 1 ) Genocide is defined in the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide as :
Any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy , in whole or in part , a national , ethnical , racial or religious group , as such : Killing members of the group ; Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group ; Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part ; Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group ; Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group .
( 2 ) Crimes against humanity refer to any of the following acts when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population : 26
• Murder .
• Extermination .
• Enslavement .
• Deportation or forcible transfer of population .
• Imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of international law .
• Torture .
• Rape , sexual slavery , enforced prostitution , forced pregnancy , enforced sterilization , or any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity .
• Persecution against any identifiable group or collectivity on political , racial , national , ethnic , cultural , religious , gender , or other grounds .
• Enforced disappearance of persons .
• Apartheid .
• Other inhumane acts of a similar character intentionally causing great suffering or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health .
( 3 ) War crimes are considered as mass atrocities when the following acts are committed as part of a plan or policy or as part of a large-scale commission of such crimes against persons or property protected by the Geneva Conventions : 27
• Willful killing .
• Torture or inhuman treatment , including biological experiments .
• Willfully causing great suffering , or serious injury to body or health .
• Extensive destruction and appropriation of property , not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly .
• Compelling prisoners of war or other protected persons to serve in the forces of a hostile power .
• Willfully depriving prisoners of war or other protected persons of the right of fair trials .
• Unlawful deportation or transfer or unlawful confinement .
• Taking of hostages .
26
Rome Stature of the International Criminal Court , Article 7 , paragraph 1 .
27
Ibid ., Article 8 , paragraphs 1 and 2 . 35