23 March 2026
The UN has not listed war criminals
By RN Bhaskar and Sakeena Bari Sayyed
Image: CoPilot
Part 1 of this article can be found here
Why did the UN not put out a list of criminals? That’s because the UN is often helpless. It was helpless when Israel shot at the UN peace-keeping troops stationed in the bufferzone between Israel and Lebanon. It is helpless whenever resolutions are vetoed.
But it can list out the crimes committed. Its executive arm can draw up a list of violations, and the rules that were violated. Member countries can then, on their own or in concert with other member countries, take up such charges with the ICC.
Of course, countries can take up a case before the ICC on their own – the way South Africa did with its case against Israel and Netanyahu. But a UN list would help. It would shame countries which have violated norms. And it could be the starting point for the ICC to take up such cases suo moto, or when member countries approach the court.
But the UN hasn’t done this.
That is why it is quite probable that the UN will get phased out. It has not been able to bring countries like Germany and USA to justice. Among some of the crimes which have been overlooked — even though they can be classified as crimes against humanity — are
- The shooting down of sailors and boats in international waters off the coast of Venezuela instead of apprehending them and bringing them to trial.
- The arbitrary bombing of Nigeria.
- The abduction of the Venezuelan president and his wife in violation of international norms.
- The killing of 30 Cuban military personnel even as they lay sleeping. Trump’s assertion that not a single American life had been lost implies that American lives are more important than the lives of other people.
- The abetting of the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, and Ismail Haniyeh
- Killing of and key Iranian officials in June 2025 (16 IRGC commanders and 14 nuclear scientists)
- Killing of 42 people and injuring 3,500–4,000 on 17 and 18 September 2024 under Operation Grim Beeper in Lebanon & Syria using weaponised pagers and Walkie-Talkie sets.
- Bombing schoolgirls in Iran (https://www.instagram.com/p/DVqzw21ky02/).
- Torpedoing a defenceless Iranian ship off the coast of Sri Lanka, and then leaving the sailors to drown.
- Promoting the concept of “bounty Hunting” by targeting leaders of nations its dislikes (https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-offers-reward-information-irans-supreme-leader-senior-officials-2026-03-13/). Historically, the US has been a promoter of assassins and bounty killing – right since exterminating the Red Indians, to funding the Mossad, to even the recent assination of Ali Larijani, head of security in Iran. It is also worth pointing out that Joe Kent, head of the US National Counterintelligence Centre resigned on 17 March 2026 (https://x.com/joekent16jan19/status/2033897242986209689), went on record pointing out that Iran was no threat, and that the US is waging this war only because of Israel. Incidentally, Joe Kent was a top dog at MAGA (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNFQ4a8JeE8). His decision to resign speaks volume. The US and Israel have bloodied hands
The US has, thus, become a master assassin like Mossad or like another hired thug — without remorse, without humanity, disregardful of international diplomacy.
The US has abetted the killing of people even while negotiations are underway. It did that twice with Iran. Effectively, it has violated the sanctity of any process of negotiation. Can it be trusted to negotiate any deal with anyone henceforth?
Peacemakers
Today the only voices calling for restraint are Russia and China. Even Iran has kept on calling for restraints. But the mainstream media has drowned these sounds out.
Given the fact that these were the countries which lobbied for peace and restraint, it will not be surprising if the new United Nations will be sponsored by these three countries – Russia, China and Iran – possibly through BRICS. It will indeed be a great irony if the new criminal court is headquartered in Iran, since it had the gumption to bring the US (and Israel) to justice.
What about India?
India always wanted to tell the world that it was the spiritual guru, and the leader of the less developed South. But its name is missing when one talks of peacekeepers. It has sabre-rattled each time it bristled against any of its neighbours.
It has tried to hunt with the hounds and run with their hares. But somewhere it slipped.
It foolishly and brazenly tried to promote itself in the company of Netanyahu, a convicted war criminal. That had happened just a day before the war against Iran began, made the reunion of the two leaders a grotesque affair.
Just pay heed to what Larry Johnson has today about India (timeline 21:12 – 22-03 — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yogVg6GFSeQ&t=1275s).
India’s image was sullied even further when it refused to either condole or help the drowning sailors who were on the torpedoed Iranian ship off the coast of Sri Lanka. In that one act India lost its claim to be the protector of the Indian ocean. Some commentators say that India passed on the coordinates of the sunken Iranian ship to Israel which then passed them on to the US submarine.
India also performed the unfriendly act of seizing three Iranian ships carrying oil. Its defence was that these ships and the oil were sanctioned by the US. But India was part of the BRICS which had passed a resolution in2024 declaring that US Sanctions enforced unilaterally were illegal. So, was India abetting an illegality? Iran has now asked India to return the three ships. It has also told India that there is no blanket clearance for ships getting safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz (use image). It is possible that permission for additional ships will not be granted if India proves to be recalcitrant. India has also been asked by Iran to ensure that a resolution condemning the Illegal attack by US and Israel against Iran – a BRICS member – is taken up at the next BRICS summit to be held in India.
It was sad to watch India not expressing grief at the assassination of Ayatollah Khamenei for full four days. That was extremely unfortunate because he was not only the head of a friendly country but also the religious head of the Shias in Iran. Hadn’t India condoled the passing away of the pope in the past?
Undoubtedly, India, belatedly, sought to make amends. It offered shelter to three Iranian ships recently. It has also offered shelter to around 183 Iranian sailors from the second ship which participated in the Vishakhapatnam rally (https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/iran-allows-two-gas-tankers-sail-india-through-hormuz-sources-say-2026-03-13/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email).
It is unlikely that Iran will be defeated by the US and Israel in this present conflict. That will only enhance Iran’s place in the world. It will also diminish USA and Israel (the latter may be severely crippled). If India does not make amends with Iran, it may find itself on the losing side.
Hopefully, it will also be the first step towards muting the xenophobia government spokespersons have expressed against minorities in India. The Assam CM posted an AI generated video of shooting Muslims https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/9/ai-video-of-assam-cm-sarma-shooting-muslims-causes-outrage-in-india). Just listen to what the chief minister of Assam stated recently:
Sarma said, “I won’t be able to deport them in my lifetime. That’s why I keep pressuring them… so that they leave by themselves. You have to create a mahaul like, we don’t want you (sic). I don’t like you. If you create an atmosphere at home that I am unwanted, then people often walk out. You have to deprive them from those advantages, they have to be evicted from the lands they have occupied illegally. When this mahaul is created, they will leave on their own. Bangladesh is just a next-door neighbour.”
Assam is a border state and can easily spin out of control if such communal fires flare up.
Also consider how — despite the provision of security — a would-be assassin was allowed to go very close to Farooq Abdullah, a towering Kashmiri leader. The police did not arrest the man. It was the people nearby who caught him and handed him over to the police. True, an investigation has been ordered. But the first reports carried by national media are quite disturbing. Equally disturbing are the unfortunate deaths of four innocent Muslims in different parts of the country just within the Holi week, because of communal hatred (https://muslimmirror.com/four-muslims-killed-in-hate-crimes-across-india-within-a-week/ and https://x.com/MujtabaAasif/status/2030594276493807702/photo/1).
The failure of the United Nations and the ICC have together allowed more crimes to take place in the world. The world body needs to – as its first step — list out all such allegations of crimes and ethnic cleansing –whether in Darfur, Sudan, the Middle East or India. This is because fanning communal fires is usually the first step towards bigger crimes, including genocide and ethnic cleaning.
Hopefully, the huge destruction that both Israel and the US have suffered at the hands of Iran may possibly help India realise how fanning communal fires can leave a trail of destruction behind.
Will the UN and the ICC find the courage and vision to begin this type of listing? Or will it begin to do this only after it becomes irrelevant?
Part I of the article can be found here
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My latest podcast is on how Indians are leaving this country – almost an exodus. You can find it at https://youtu.be/lsOMvuoH3JU
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Also watch my views on Republic TV on India’s foreign policy blunders at India’s Foreign Policy Blunder? — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fxy0C7kS0A4
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You can read about my views on euthanasia arising from the Supreme Court’s judgement on the Harish Rana case, by looking up https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/opinion/story/harish-rana-case-supreme-court-has-more-humanity-than-indias-legislators-2881791-2026-03-14
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And do watch our weekly “News Behind the News” podcasts, streamed ‘live’ every Saturday morning, at 8:15 am IST. The latest can be found at https://www.youtube.com/live/0oYDb9_2dIo?si=ijm3gkZbQtOVgM09
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