Red Cross Calls for Rules of War to be Applied in Videogames

Francois Senechaud of the International Committee of the Red Cross, which safeguards the Geneva Convention, has said the organistation would like to see the rules of war implemented in military shooters. 

Speaking to the BBC he said "videogames which represent the battlefield are very close to reality," adding, "actually, it's very hard to tell the difference between any real footage and the footage you can get from videogames.

"So we're arguing that we have to get even closer to reality and include the rules of law for armed conflicts."

In the report, it's noted that in reality targeting civilians and torturing prisoners are counted as war crimes for which the perpetrators can find themselves brought before the International Criminal Court in The Hague while there are no such penalties in videogames.

However, Bohemia Interactive CEO Marek Spanel said that they felt "it's just not right" that players can simply choose to shoot anything that moves. As such, the developer has instigated a game feature which means that if you commit a war crime and friendly soldiers are nearby they will attack you.

With technology and graphics improving all the time, it's likely that the comparisons between virtual and actual conflicts will continue to grow. For our own Gameranx discussion on this topic, see the Top Ten Most Atrocious War Crimes in Video Games.