World of War Crimes: Eyeless in Gaza … and Beyond, the latest book by barrister and human rights advocate Geoffrey Robertson, quickly establishes that contemporary international laws against war crimes are completely ineffectual.

The ongoing violence in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, Myanmar, the Tigray region of Ethiopia, Kashmir and elsewhere is, initially, a compelling point in Robertson’s favour. So is the failure of courts, either international or domestic, to prosecute individuals, governments, militaries or corporations for the horrors of war.

No doubt, Robertson would also include US President Donald Trump’s order for the US military to kidnap Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro as an example of the failure of international law.

Review: World of War Crimes: Eyeless in Gaza … and Beyond – Geoffrey Robertson (Penguin)

At the end of the second world war, a new international system was created. War criminals were prosecuted before national and international tribunals. The United Nations was formed to prevent wars and guide peaceful resolutions to potential conflicts. A host of new treaties to limit the horrors of war were signed.

How these systems failed and how to fix them are the central questions of Robertson’s book.

Robertson’s key reason for the failure of international law is relatively straightforward. The international order that emerged from WWII favoured the great powers of the US, the USSR/Russia, China, the UK and France. As permanent members of the UN Security Council, these countries have the right to veto any UN action.

Since the formation of the UN and the Security Council in 1945, these five countries have turned international law into a pointless exercise, designed not to end, or even limit, human suffering, but rather to allow them to wage war on their own terms. Militaries, politicians and government lawyers have twisted the inherent virtues of war law to justify or excuse practically every war crime, whether it be carpet bombing civilians, torture, summary execution or illegal detention.

As Robertson points out, excuses and justifications for what are clearly war crimes are apparent........

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