prohibiting aggression protects state sovereignty or circumscribes it. Others see aggression as a crime primarily against individuals who are killed or harmed as a result of war. Philosopher Larry May maintains that serious aggressions, entailing loss of life, can be subsumed under the category of crimes against humanity. Conversely, a war cannot be justified by a minor violation of territorial integrity, and a violation of territorial integrity that does not involve serious human rights violations cannot be considered a criminal act of aggression. This conception of aggression could also allow for humanitarian intervention. The traditional view is that only decision-makers can be held criminally responsible for aggression, rather than lower-level military personnel and ordinary soldiers. In recent times, however, there has been consideration as to whether soldiers who knowingly participate in a war of aggression incur moral or should incur legal liability. Soldiers have a right and a responsibility to refuse to commit war crimes, but in general the right to refuse to fight an illegal war is not recognized. International law scholar Tom Dannenbaum argues that soldiers should have a right not to fight in illegal wars, and those who refuse to should be recognized as refugees. One controversial issue is whether waging aggressive war inherently violates the right to life guaranteed in international human rights law. In 2019, the United Nations Human Rights Committee ruled that "States parties engaged in acts of aggression as defined in international law, resulting in deprivation of life, violate ipso facto article 6 [the right to life] of the" International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. References Sources Further reading External links Resolution RC/Res.6 - Amendments to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court on the crime of aggression Review Conference - Official Site of the Assembly of States Parties Crime of Aggression - Official Site of the Assembly of States Parties UN Treaty Collection (UTC) - Status of Acceptance, Ratification 10 .a Amendment to article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court 10 .b Amendments on the crime of aggression to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Aggression Military law International criminal law State crime