Delivered at the 81st Ordinary Session of the African Commission of Human and People’s Rights
ICJ Observer Number: 2
Crimes against humanity are reportedly being committed by state and non-state across the continent, in peace and wartime. The African Commission and Court, and domestic and international criminal justice bodies, are investigating and adjudicating these crimes. Yet, these crimes lack a specific dedicated convention.
All other crimes under international law are governed by international treaties, including the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, the Genocide Convention, the Apartheid Convention and the Slavery Convention, among others. Under the Rome Statute, the International Criminal Court can only prosecute individuals, not states, for crimes against humanity and only where they have jurisdiction.
A new convention would impose a duty to prevent and punish such crimes and ensure that states can be held to account for them. A treaty could also provide a procedural framework to ensure more efficient and effective justice for victims. It could make the ICC an actual court of last resort and bring accountability back to the domestic level.
Last week, the United Nations General Assembly’s Sixth Committee met to take action on a resolution to begin full formal negotiations on a new Convention on crimes against humanity, based on the International Law Commission’s Draft Articles on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Humanity. The Draft Articles provide a solid basis for moving forward to treaty negotiations.
A new convention should recognize the gendered and intersectional nature of discrimination and violence underpinning the commission of crimes against humanity and the related importance of adopting gender-competent and intersectional approaches to accountability.
We are encouraged that a great number of African states have already pledged their support for the new convention, including Botswana, Cabo Verde, Djibouti, Gambia, Ghana, Lesotho, Liberia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tunisia, Zambia. Another 16 African States have just expressed strong support at the sixth Committee session. The International Commission of Jurists calls on all African Union member states to co-sponsor and support the adoption of the resolution that would initiate the drafting of a Convention on Crimes Against Humanity.
Thank you.
