Crimes of war: educator's guide

Despite the advanced state of development of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, the world continues to witness heinous crimes of war. The development of these schools of legal thought has required a high level of international cooperation as evidenced by the formation of the International Criminal Court, ad hoc tribunals, and hybrid tribunals. These important efforts represent a unique moment in world history. However, continued pressure on governments is required in these areas to end the cycles of violence.

The intention of this educator's guide is to make prominent writings of field journalists on war crimes accessible to youth, young adults, and future decision makers, as well as to inform the general public. It provides content on war crimes in a variety of ways: creating thematic groupings from Crimes of War, summarizing articles, providing discussion questions and in-depth activities, defining terms, and referencing additional film, print and web resources. It is intended for use in senior level high school classes, advanced placement classes and university classes.

The guide is composed of eight thematic chapters:

• weapons
• violence against civilians
• child soldiers
• sexual violence
• terrorism and torture
• genocide
• international courts and tribunals
• humanitarian intervention

Each chapter includes teaching aids such as suggested methodology; questions; and activities.

( adapted from author)