The Assembly of States Parties to the International Criminal Court adopted amendments to the Rome Statute, according to which the use of lasers in combat is now considered a war crime. This is stated in the message of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belgium, which sought the adoption of such amendments since 2009. In addition to the use of lasers, the Rome Statute now recognizes the use of biological and chemical weapons as a war crime, as well as fragmentation munitions, the fragments of which in the body of wounded fighters cannot be detected by X-ray examination.
The International Criminal Court was established in 1998 and began operating in 2002. It is an international judicial body charged with the prosecution of individuals responsible for genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity. The court operates on a permanent basis. The reason for its organization was the need to replace the temporary international tribunals dealing with the study of crimes committed during various conflicts. At present, 123 countries of the world are participating in the International Criminal Court, including Russia, France, the Netherlands and Palestine.
The United States, China, India, Israel and Iran are against the activities of the International Criminal Court. The authorities of these countries believe that the activities of the court limit their state sovereignty. Moreover, these states consider the powers of the international court to be overly broad. The International Criminal Court operates on the basis of the Rome Statute, a treaty signed in Rome in 1998 that describes acts that are considered war crimes, genocide or crimes against humanity by countries party to the agreement.
Currently, the Rome Statute describes about a hundred acts that amount to war crimes, and some actions can be recognized as such only during international military conflicts, while others - during local wars. In particular, the Rome Statute includes premeditated murder, torture, biological experiments, deliberate infliction of suffering, denial of a fair trial and taking hostages to war crimes committed during international military conflicts. The list also includes attacks on civilians, rape, the use of children in war, the use of poisons and expansive ammunition.
The Belgian Foreign Ministry noted that chemical and biological weapons have no selective effect and are capable of killing or causing suffering both among people directly involved in the military conflict and among civilians. The use of lasers, which led to a complete and irreversible loss of vision, is now considered a war crime. The Belgian ministry does not provide a clear definition of lasers that cannot be used during armed conflicts. Probably, laser sights and laser weapon guidance systems in general are not subject to the new provisions of the Rome Statute.
Today, several countries in the world are engaged in research and development in the field of creating military laser weapons. Such weapons are planned to be used to destroy aircraft and helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles, artillery shells and mortars, ballistic missiles at the initial stage of flight, improvised explosive devices and ships. For example, the US Navy is currently testing the shipborne laser LaWS installed on the landing ship Ponce. The power of this weapon is 33 kilowatts. It is used to protect against drones and to blind the enemy's optical guidance systems.
Vasily Sychev
