Six hundred million gamers could be war criminals, Red Cross says

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Six hundred million gamers could be war criminals, Red Cross says

The Red Cross are investigating whether violent video games like BioShock violate international law.

THE Red Cross is investigating whether 600 million gamers are violating the Hague and Geneva conventions when they kill and blow stuff up for fun.

Delegates at the 31st International Conference of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Red Crescent raised the concerns over the potential “International Humanitarian Law” violations – which can constitute war crimes - during a workshop in Geneva.

Call of Duty World of Warfare
Playing games like Call of Duty: World of Warfare could make you a war criminal, if the Red Cross has its way. Picture: Infinity Ward / Activision

“Exactly how video games influence individuals is a hotly debated topic, but for the first time, Movement partners discussed our role and responsibility to take action against violations of IHL in video games,” the Red Cross wrote in its daily bulletin.

“While National Societies shared their experiences and opinions, there is clearly no simple answer. There is, however, an overall consensus and motivation to take action.”

Resident Evil
Does killing zombies in Resident Evil would count as a war crime? It would be a crime not to win, surely. Picture: Infinity Ward / Activision

A spokesperson for ICRC Australia told news.com.au the workshop looked at how games “represented International Humanitarian Law”, which regulates the legal conduct of warfare.

"The aim for the ICRC is that they send the right signals to their hundreds of millions of players by rewarding respect for IHL and penalising violations," the spokesperson said.

The Red Cross said if it finds the conventions have been violated, they may ask game developers to conform to international laws or encourage governments to create laws that regulate the gaming industry, Kotaku reported.

But international law professor at the University of New South Wales Anthony Billingsley told news.com.au the Red Cross risked trivialising the conventions of warfare.

Mr Billingsley also said there is no way the conventions could apply to individuals because they were state-based.

“There are concerns about the blurring of fantasy and reality,” he said.

“There’s a danger of war becoming a spectator sport. People need to realise that this is real stuff.”

The International Committee of the Red Cross is empowered by the Geneva Conventions to protect victims of international and domestic armed conflicts.

Six hundred million gamers could be war criminals, Red Cross says | Online Video Games Reviews & News | News.com.au




Errrm, ok

[MatticusMania]

That sounds downright dumb.

[rr5025]

Sure this isn't from the onion?

[Funky Ghost]

Maybe they should start with Tom and Jerry, Wiley and the Road Runner, Popeye and Bluto and Sylvester and Tweety .. cuz I bet they will be the cause of no end of social degenerates in the future ... oh, wait...

[jmattbassplaya]

I love it when someone or some group tries to impose their views on others.

[MakiSupaStar]

Waste of time.

[ugly_bassplayer]

This makes me think about the witch hunt during the "Parental Advisory " stickers on records.

[BurningSkies]

Originally Posted by jmattbassplaya

I love it when someone or some group tries to impose their views on others.

I call this 'reality' or 'business as usual', or maybe you want to use the term 'society'.

[MatticusMania]

Clearly, this is why Columbine happened, and not because of Marilyn Manson.

[boynamedsuse]

Apparently a disenfranchised Red Cross is trying to find its relevance in today's world.

[RosieB]

Sounds like the Red Cross is having a hard time differentiating fantasy from reality.

[jmattbassplaya]

Originally Posted by BurningSkies

I call this 'reality' or 'business as usual', or maybe you want to use the term 'society'.

It is, and that's a sad thing.

[stratovani]

Excuse me, Red Cross, but you do realize that these are computer games? And the people that die in them aren't real?

[BurningSkies]

Originally Posted by jmattbassplaya

It is, and that's a sad thing.

That's what society is. Otherwise, everyone would be living in their own little hole in the ground. Every law, every tradition, every bit of etiquette, every rule that is ever followed is someone telling someone trying to impose their views on someone else. We choose to follow and agree or not follow and disagree.

[jmattbassplaya]

Originally Posted by BurningSkies

That's what society is. Otherwise, everyone would be living in their own little hole in the ground. Every law, every tradition, every bit of etiquette, every rule that is ever followed is someone telling someone trying to impose their views on someone else. We choose to follow and agree or not follow and disagree.

Unfortunately, any further discussion would lead to the realm of politics.

[knumbskull]

stop press: Fox News in even-handed, non-inflammatory, extremely relevant news story shocker.

they should stick to what they're good at e.g. hacking into the phones of the families of murder victims.

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Is that a fox subsidiary?

[knumbskull]

Originally Posted by i_got_a_mohawk

Is that a fox subsidiary?

it's Newscorp...

[knumbskull]

and, to be fair, this:

“Exactly how video games influence individuals is a hotly debated topic, but for the first time, Movement partners discussed our role and responsibility to take action against violations of IHL in video games,” the Red Cross wrote in its daily bulletin.

...is hardly a damning statement of puritanism.

you can bet that if the "Battlefield: Armenian Massacre" game comes out, there would be more than one poster on here expressing their disgust.

[Ziltoid]

So this is how the Redcross spends the donations we do?