The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has issued a statement it probably didn’t think it would ever need to: you can’t be prosecuted as a war criminal for playing video games. A bold statement, for sure, but one the ICRC decided to make in the wake of a discussion held during the 31st International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent last week.
Red Cross confirms that it won’t prosecute gamers for war crimes
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was forced to make a statement saying that it won’t be prosecuting video gamers as war criminals. This came in the wake of a discussion on the role and responsibility of the ICRC in regards to “taking action” against violations of international humanitarian law in video games.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was forced to make a statement saying that it won’t be prosecuting video gamers as war criminals. This came in the wake of a discussion on the role and responsibility of the ICRC in regards to “taking action” against violations of international humanitarian law in video games.
A write-up on the ICRC’s website said that the group “discussed our role and responsibility to take action against violations of international humanitarian law in video games,” which led many in the media to believe that the ICRC would actually prosecute video gamers. Fortunately, the ICRC really just wants to use games as a potential opportunity to spread knowledge about the laws of armed combat. Good news for the millions of consumers who picked up Modern Warfare 3 last month.
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