Deportation

Deportation refers to the forced transfer of civilians (or other persons protected by the Geneva Conventions) from the territory where they reside to the territory of the occupying power or to any other territory, whether occupied or not.

Individual or mass deportations are prohibited, regardless of their motive. The occupying power is also prohibited from deporting or transferring part of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.

Any such acts can be prosecuted under the principle of universal jurisdiction. They may also constitute elements of crimes such as ethnic cleansing and genocide.

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court defines deportation and transfer both as war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Total or partial evacuation of the civilian population from a given area is only allowed under very specific and restrictive conditions. For instance, when the security of the population or imperative military reasons require it. Such an evacuation can however only be temporary, and the population must be allowed to return as soon as possible.