War crimes in video games should be punished, ICRC says

The International Committee of the Red Cross have called for video games to punish crimes committed in battle by adhering to real-life international war conventions.

The International Committee of the Red Cross have called for video games to punish crimes committed in battle by adhering to real-life international war conventions.

“The ICRC believes there is a place for international humanitarian law (the law of armed conflict) in video games,” the organization that works worldwide to provide humanitarian help for people caught in war zones said in a statement on their website.

“The ICRC is concerned that certain game scenarios could lead to a trivialization of serious violations of the law of armed conflict,” they added. “The fear is that eventually such illegal acts will be perceived as acceptable behavior.” 

Bernard Barrett, a spokesman for the organization said they were not trying to censor games or spoil people’s fun, but rather, “make clear that there are rules in battle and that certain acts are illegal.”

Shooting civilians, torture, attacking ambulances and killing prisoners are all aspects in video games that they want to address, he explained.

He added that they were not concerned with fantasy games, but those that mimic situations that might be seen in current armed conflicts, known as “first person shooters” although he declined to name specific titles.… Read more

Should gamers be accountable for in-game war crimes?

The Red Cross has told the BBC that it wants military-themed video games to adhere to real-life international laws

Don’t shoot the civilians. This is something military games have been telling us for many years. I remember my first go on Taito’s explosive arcade title Operation Wolf – it was the late-80s and this frenzied blast-’em-up, with its jungle environment and hostage rescue missions, was clearly gunning for a generation of Rambo II fanatics. It even let you control the action with an Uzi-style sub-machine gun bolted to the cabinet. But what it wouldn’t let you do was kill passing civilians: collateral damage of this sort took a big chunk off your health bar.

Of course, this was really more about mechanics than ethics: players were being tested on their reactions and visual awareness, and failure meant a reduction in game time rather than a few moments’ reflection on innocent victims. These days, if you accidentally (or otherwise) shoot a civilian or comrade in a military shooter, you’ll probably get a ‘mission failed’ message and a one-way trip back to the last checkpoint. What you won’t get is a military tribunal and a dishonorable discharge.

In a BBC news report earlier this week, however, Francois Senechaud from the International Committee of the Red Cross told a reporter that, due to the increasing verisimilitude between first-person shooters and real-life combat, games should start to abide by the international laws of armed conflict.… Read more

Anti-war activists battle to get their voices heard in WW1 centenary events

Campaigners challenge ‘glorious conflict’ narrative and plan to highlight treatment of conscientious objectors

Anti-war activists, pacifists and others are challenging the narrative of the official programme marking the centenary of the first world war with an alternative range of activities, some of which have received government funds.

They include an event to remember conscientious objectors, which is being financed with £95,800 in lottery funding allocated to the pacifist organisation that distributes white poppies.

The “No Glory” campaign, backed by anti-war activists and high-profile supporters, such as the actors Jude Law and Alan Rickman and the poet laureate, Carol Ann Duffy, intend to hold a concert next year at the Barbican in London.

“What those of us involved in this are concerned about is that the war will be presented as something glorious and part of our national heritage, when it isn’t really. It was a total disaster that was unnecessary and destroyed a generation,” said Brian Eno, the composer and musician.

Eno said he was interested in creating something based on the testimonies of soldiers in the best-selling book, Forgotten Voices of the Great War, which was written by historian Max Arthur with the Imperial War Museum.

“They are simple transcripts of soldiers remembering what happened to them.… Read more