The UN International Law Commission produced its own, similar, set of Draft Articles on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Humanity,[1] and a proposed treaty is now being[when?]
Fifteen of these papers, written by leading experts, were presented and discussed at a conference held at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis on April 13–14, 2009.
[16] The third phase of the Initiative resulted in the elaboration and publication of a Proposed International Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Humanity in English and French.
[18] This Conference resulted in a Declaration on the Need for a Comprehensive Convention on Crimes Against Humanity which was signed by all seven members of the Steering Committee and supported by 73 other individuals who were involved in the process, including Ambassador David Scheffer, Silvana Arbia, then Registrar of the ICC, Robert Badinter, David M. Crane, former Prosecutor at the Special Court for Sierra Leone, Benjamin B. Ferencz, a chief prosecutor at the United States Military Tribunals in Nuremberg, Judge O-Gon Kwon, International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Judge Daniel Nsereko, International Criminal Court and H.E.
The fourth phase included the promotion of the Proposed Convention as part of a broader global awareness campaign and assistance to the U.N. International Law Commission's work on drafting articles on crimes against humanity.
During this fourth phase, the Institute hosted or co-sponsored several workshops and events to raise awareness about the need for a global crimes against humanity treaty and encourage civil society actors around the globe to submit comments and recommendations to the International Law Commission.
In 2018, the Institute co-organized Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Workshop on Crimes Against Humanity[28] in Lima, Peru, and the City University of New York School of Law (CUNY), together with MADRE,[29] discussed the Draft Articles with a focus on women's rights and gender persecution.
[51][52] On July 30, 2013, the International Law Commission voted to include the topic of crimes against humanity in its long-term program of work.
[56] The Institute also co-hosted, with the War Crimes Committee of the International Bar Association, the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the Permanent Mission of the Principality of Lichtenstein, a Discussion on the Draft Articles on Crimes Against Humanity[57] at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, while the International Law Commission was completing its second reading on the Draft Articles in May 2019.
[61] The Harris Institute hosted with Germany, Chile, and Korea[60] a side-meeting in New York City on the need for such a convention on October 29, 2019.
On November 10, 2019, the U.N. Sixth Committee adopted Draft Resolution II on Crimes against Humanity which took note of the International Law Commission's Draft Articles and decided “to include in the provisional agenda of its seventy-fifth session an item entitled “Crimes against humanity” and to continue to examine the recommendation of the Commission.”[64] Forty-two states joined a statement from Austria “regret[ing] … that the Sixth Committee was not able to agree on an ambitious and structured approach for … future deliberations on the recommendation of the ILC to elaborate a convention on the basis of its draft articles.”[65] In Resolution 187 of December 18, 2019, the General Assembly expressed appreciation to the International Law Commission for its continuing contribution to the codification and progressive development of international law and also took note of the draft articles on crimes against humanity.
For example, the Prosecutors of various international criminal tribunals have endorsed the goal of a convention on crimes against humanity in the declarations adopted in Chautauqua, New York, in 2010 and in Kigali, Rwanda, in 2009.
[72] In the 69th Session of the UN General Assembly in 2014,[73] many states made positive remarks on the International Law Commission's decision to move forward with studying the need for a global crimes against humanity treaty, and expressed their support for the work of the ILC on the crimes against humanity treaty topic, including Australia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Israel, Japan, Korea, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States.
[75][76] In the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly in 2015,[77] Austria expressed support for the Draft Articles and continued extension of the convention[78] and Croatia endorsed “all efforts aimed at developing a global international instrument for the prevention, prosecution and punishment of crimes against humanity.”[79] Chile, China, Germany, Indonesia, and Slovakia were among several states also expressing their support for the project.
[82] Hungary agreed with the International Law Commission's notion to create further draft articles with the intention of forming a full convention.
[83] Australia, Belarus, Egypt, Iceland, Mexico, Switzerland, and Viet Nam also offered statements of agreement with the project to date.
Czech Republic during the UN General Assembly's 72nd Session in 2017[84] stated their strong support for the continued work towards a crimes against humanity convention,[76] as did Israel[85] and Italy.
Of 56 states and entities commenting, a majority made positive remarks including Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Estonia, Germany, Paraguay, Portugal, and Sierra Leone.
Estonia noted the “outstanding contribution” by the Special Rapporteur and commended the intended inclusion of crimes against humanity as a peremptory norm of international law[91] (jus cogens).
But crimes against humanity - one of the most revolutionary and important elements of the Nuremberg Charter itself - were never set out in a treaty until the adoption of the International Criminal Court Statute in the summer of 1998.
My friends, this initiative of the Institute that bears my name is the first serious international effort to fill this gap, complete this work, and fulfill the Nuremberg legacy.In the 69th Session of the UN General Assembly in 2014, some states questioned the need for further study on the need for a crimes against humanity convention, including France, South Africa, and the Netherlands, which considered "that this issue is to a large extent already addressed in the Rome Statute.
[95] During the 71st Session, India gave similar comments regarding the International Criminal Court and its capacity to "deal with the subject matter of [crimes against humanity]," without the need for a new convention.