Paris, The Hague, 27 November 2024. In a historic development, on Friday 22 November 2024, the Sixth Committee of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly approved by consensus a milestone resolution to advance to formal negotiations for an international convention on the prevention and punishment of crimes against humanity.
Unlike for genocide, war crimes, torture, enforced disappearances and apartheid, there is currently no international treaty dedicated to the prevention and punishment of crimes against humanity. Such a treaty would strengthen the international legal framework by filling an important gap in treaty law and by crystallising states’ obligations to prevent and punish these crimes.
"The adoption of this milestone resolution constitutes a crucial step towards closing the impunity gap for crimes against humanity", said Alexis Deswaef, FIDH Vice-President. "Such a treaty is long overdue and all the more needed in the current context where crimes against humanity are being committed all over the world".
The treaty would address an alarming rise in systematic attacks targeting civilians, in peacetime and during armed conflicts. Among other things, the treaty would require states to prohibit crimes against humanity domestically and provide for mutual cooperation to arrest and punish perpetrators. It could also afford greater protections to civilians should the negotiation process result in the inclusion of broader categories of crimes than those in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, such as sexual and gender-based violence and gender apartheid.
Under the adopted resolution, co-sponsored by 99 states, the negotiation process is scheduled to last three years from 2026-2029, with a UN conference due to meet for three consecutive weeks in early 2028 and in 2029. While FIDH welcomes this essential step, it recalls the urgency of the global human rights crisis, and urges States to strictly adhere to the proposed timeline.
FIDH further calls on states to support and actively participate in this process, and to negotiate a strong convention, protective of human rights, in particular the rights of victims and survivors, including their rights to truth, justice, reparations, protection, and meaningful participation. States should also ensure that civil society can meaningfully and effectively participate in all the steps of this negotiation process.
Background
Over the last decade, the International Law Commission (ILC), the UN entity charged with the development and codification of international law, and the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), have made progress toward establishing a convention on crimes against humanity. Specific crimes amount to crimes against humanity when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack. In 2019, the ILC published its Draft Articles on Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Humanity and recommended them to the UN General Assembly to develop a Convention on their basis. Since 2023, the Sixth Committee of the UNGA has been holding a series of debates, culminating with the agreement to formally start negotiations to adopt a treaty on crimes against humanity. This resolution resulted from intense exchanges and negotiations between states to reach a compromise text to be adopted by consensus, a process heavily supported by civil society.