Casualties of War

The practically complete absence of rules or sanctions is nevertheless astonishing: civilians or protected objects such as churches or mosques can be attacked with impunity, in scenes portraying interrogations it is possible to torture, degrade or treat the prisoner inhumanely without being sanctioned for it and extrajudicial executions are simulated.

— From a 2007 study of war violence in video games by TRIAL, a Geneva-based organization that assists in cases involving international crimes such as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The topic of whether the trivialization of war crimes as depicted in videogames warrants regulation is being revisited this week during the 31st International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in Switzerland.