Legal Framework

Geneva Conventions

The four treaties adopted in 1949 that form the foundation of international humanitarian law, protecting wounded soldiers (I), shipwrecked sailors (II), prisoners of war (III), and civilians (IV) during armed conflict.

Related incidents

4 incidents

DOGE Gutted State Department Energy Bureau Months Before Iran War

DOGE's elimination of the State Department's energy diplomacy bureau months before the Iran war left the U.S. without key personnel who monitored energy chokepoints, oil markets, and Iranian energy …

  • DOGE eliminated the Bureau of Energy Resources, an 80-person State Department team responsible for leading international energy diplomacy …
  • The bureau was gutted approximately six months before the February 2026 U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran — a war that has centered on energy …

Defense Secretary Hegseth Declares 'No Quarter, No Mercy' for Iran

The US Defense Secretary's public declaration that no quarter would be given to Iran constitutes a textbook war crime under Rome Statute Article 8(2)(b)(xii), which criminalizes 'declaring that no …

  • Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth publicly declared there would be 'no quarter, no mercy' for Iran during the 2026 Iran war.
  • Declaring that no quarter will be given is explicitly listed as a war crime under Rome Statute Article 8(2)(b)(xii). It is a per se …

Operation Southern Spear: Lethal Drone Strikes on Caribbean and Pacific Drug Boats

A sustained campaign of Hellfire missile strikes on suspected drug boats has killed at least 95 people without due process, public evidence of drug trafficking, or identification of the dead. Legal …

  • At least 95 people killed in 26+ Hellfire missile strikes on boats in the Caribbean and Pacific since September 2, 2025, with no public …
  • The very first strike on September 2, 2025 included a 'double tap' — two survivors clung to wreckage for 45 minutes before a follow-up …

Dismantlement of Pentagon Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response Program

The Pentagon's civilian casualty prevention infrastructure was gutted in early 2025, removing safeguards that existed specifically to prevent the kinds of civilian harm documented in the …

  • The CHMR program and its Civilian Protection Center of Excellence were tagged for elimination by February 2025.
  • Approximately 200 personnel assigned to civilian harm mitigation were affected.