Armed conflict and violation of international humanitarian law
Discipline: English 101
Type of Paper: Essay (any type)
Academic Level: Undergrad. (yrs 3-4)
Paper Format: MLA
Question
Context and circumstances must be taken into consideration when deciding whether the instances may be deemed homicide murders for statistical reasons. For instance, homicide murders such as those caused by acts of terror would be deemed war crimes since these fatalities may take place in a context of armed conflict and violation of international humanitarian law. Since the ICCS offers a methodology for determining statistical treatment of violent murders in circumstances of collective aggression, this elucidates why the ICCS was established. Social disorder, which might be characterized as social discontent that happens in the form of riots or other episodes of violence but not armed conflict, lies at the other extreme of the spectrum of collective violence (ICRC, 2012). The ICCS strategy aims to determine the broad definition of deliberate murder for each death that occurs during civil disturbance and use that definition to analyze and attribute each killing, with the goal of understanding and mitigating the underlying cause of violent death.
A topic that has stumped social scientists, economists, and even those in the legal and judicial systems is the link between economic disparity and crime. The latest trends in these two problems, such as in the US, may be seen in the falling crime rate that has been occurring since the 1960s. On the other hand, income inequality has increased steadily since the 1970s. Income disparity is studied by criminologists and sociologists alike. Depending on why this occurs, the impact of economic disparity on crime will be different at national, state, and local levels. It seems that higher levels of economic disparity are believed to contribute to rising crime levels since it may increase the feeling of deprivation experienced by the lower classes. Some have said that places with significant wealth inequalities are ideal for individuals who want to break the law. Researchers have also shown that as economic disparity increases, poor people tend to cluster together, increasing the likelihood of criminality. It is conceivable, however, that economic disparity may be a deterrent to criminal activity. Although wealthier neighborhoods may have their own private security measures such as alarm systems, this may substantially decrease criminal activity. Socioeconomic disparities impact violent behavior because our thinking, actions, and relationship-building are influenced by these inequalities. While it may promote social rivalry and therefore lead to violence, it may also inhibit the development of some, which results in feelings of despair and terror. This, in turn, may lead to dread, aggression, and murder.
Out of the 11 International Crime Classification Sections mentioned in the article I chose to analyze section eight, acts against public order, authority, and provisions of the state. The main reasons I chose this section is due to our rights afforded to us as American citizens as well as the government actions taken against the COVID-19 pandemic world-wide. To start, we as Americans are afforded the right to freedom of speech, religion, press, peaceful assembly, and partition against the government. This is of course within limitations. However, these rights and freedoms are not awarded to the citizens of other countries around the globe, and if they are they might not be to the extent that our rights are. If we use China and the U.S. as an example, we can see that China may have a higher rate of crimes for acts against public order, authority, and provisions of the state. This is mainly because Chinese citizens are afforded the same rights, and their magnitude, as American citizens therefore driving up the crime rate for this section. Another example could be Australian citizens protesting COVID-19 mandates versus American Citizens protesting COVID-19 mandates. Australia, as we know, has been invoking strict COVID-19 guidelines to help fight against the disease, although not all citizens agree with these restrictions and could face serious punishment for violating them. Compare this to the protest against mandates in America and you can see that the cause for protest may be the same but the effects of said protest can vary. Because of the different legal and judicial systems citizens in Australia may face different punishments than those of American citizens. Once again causing a difference in the crime rate relevant to section eight, acts against public order, authority, and provisions of the state.
From the various characteristics mentioned in the textbook I set my focus on social class. Social class can be a detrimental factor when determining its effects on crime rate. As mentioned in the textbook there is a higher rate of people in lower social classes committing “traditional crimes”. The main factor for this disproportion is mainly due to the lack of authority the lower class holds within our society. Also, the lower social classes are more subject to crime since they have less than the higher social classes monetarily therefore making it harder to make ends meet. The textbook mentions a study, Warner, and Pierce (1991), were calls to police were examined and found that the poverty of a given area increased the rate of tradition crimes, such as robbery or assault. Here we can see that lower social classes are more susceptible to committing crimes and being the victim of crimes. It is important to mention that the textbook describes parental discipline being an important factor when determining a person’s risk to committing a crime regardless of class. However, lower social classes are not the only ones that drive the crime rate up. People in higher social classes can be susceptible to white collar crimes since they are in more positions of power. Finally, social class is important when determining the effects it has on increasing or decreasing the crime rate. In times of struggling economies, such as the past year, the crime rate can soar due to the lower social class needing more income. When there is a lack of awareness the crime rate can soar as the lower social class may feel invisible and powerless.
