In the last few days, the world has witnessed the breaking of International Law and the established norms, including practices of hostage-taking, collective punishment, and indiscriminate bombing. The mass killing of civilians that qualify as genocide and ethnic cleansing as defined by the UN Genocide Convention are egregious violations. This includes reports of civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructures, targeting hospitals, schools, and civilian residences, with actions including collective punishment, the use of incendiary weapons, and orders of forced displacement of populations. All of these violations have raised serious questions about the protection of civilian populations and the motives of Member States’ actions that constitute violations of international law.
