War games 'break international law'

Humanitarian groups have warned that video games featuring war often depict clear violations of international laws governing armed conflicts.

Swiss human rights organisations Trial and Pro Juventute tested a series of games - including Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Far Cry 2 - to see if there were any breaches of humanitarian law, reports BBC News.

The resulting study delivered a damning verdict as many of the games enabled players to murder civilians, torture captured enemies and destroy buildings. In response, both groups called on developers to start showing players the real-world impact of their actions.

In total, 19 games were evaluated in the study to judge "whether certain scenes and acts committed by players would constitute violations of international law if they were real, rather than virtual".

The research team chose to test games rather than films because the interactive aspect blurs the line for gamers between the "virtual and real experience".

Testers looked out for violations of the Geneva Convention and its Additional Protocols, particularly in terms of treatment of civilians and captured combatants.

However, it was acknowledged that the scale of the games and the fragmented view of the conflicts they portrayed often made it hard to effectively apply international law.

The study accepted that most players would never participate in a real-life combat situation, but still criticised the games for fostering an "erroneous" perception of the way wars are waged in real-life, including the belief that all is fair in counter-terrorism.

War games were further criticised for rarely transmitting the notion that anyone violating international humanitarian law ends up "as war criminals, not as winners".

Despite the criticisms, the study authors said that they do not believe games should be made less violent. Instead, developers should "consequently and creatively incorporate rules of international humanitarian law and human rights into their games".