Crime against humanity 61099 222564816 2008-06-30T00:50:24Z Lxixthemaster 7395619 In [[public international law]], a '''crime against humanity''' is an act of [[persecution]] or any large scale atrocities against a body of people, and is the highest level of criminal offense.<ref name="crimesofwar">{{cite web|url=http://www.crimesofwar.org/thebook/crimes-against-humanity.html|title=Crimes Against Humanity|accessdate=2006-07-23|author=Cherif Bassiouni}}</ref> The [[Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court|Rome Statute]] Explanatory Memorandum states that crimes against humanity "are particularly odious offences in that they constitute a serious attack on [[human dignity]] or grave humiliation or a degradation of one or more human beings. They are not isolated or sporadic events, but are part either of a government policy (although the perpetrators need not identify themselves with this policy) or of a wide practice of atrocities tolerated or condoned by a government or a de facto authority. However, murder, extermination, torture, rape, political, racial, or religious persecution and other inhumane acts reach the threshold of crimes against humanity only if they are part of a widespread or systematic practice. Isolated inhumane acts of this nature may constitute grave infringements of human rights, or depending on the circumstances, [[war crimes]], but may fall short of falling into the category of crimes under discussion."<ref name="Horton"> As quoted by Guy Horton in ''[http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs3/Horton-2005.pdf Dying Alive - A Legal Assessment of Human Rights Violations in Burma]'' April 2005, co-Funded by The Netherlands Ministry for Development Co-Operation. See section "12.52 Crimes against humanity", Page 201. He references RSICC/C, Vol. 1 p. 360 </ref> ==First uses== {{see also|Armenian Genocide}} On [[May 24]], [[1915]], the Allied Powers, Britain, France, and Russia, jointly issued a statement explicitly charging for the first time ever another government of committing "a crime against humanity". An excerpt from this joint statement reads: {{quotation|In view of these new crimes of [[Ottoman Empire|Turkey]] against humanity and civilization, the [[Allies of World War I|Allied Governments]] announce publicly to the [[Sublime Porte]] that they will hold personally responsible for these crimes all members of the [[Young Turks|Ottoman Government]], as well as those of their agents who are implicated in such massacres.<ref>1915 declaration *[http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/cpquery/T?&report=hr933&dbname=106& Affirmation of the United States Record on the Armenian Genocide Resolution] 106th Congress,,2nd Session, House of Representatives *[http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:H.RES.316: Affirmation of the United States Record on the Armenian Genocide Resolution (Introduced in House of Representatives)] 109th Congress, 1st Session, [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:HE00316: H.RES.316], [[June 14]], [[2005]]. [[15 September]] [[2005]] House Committee/Subcommittee:International Relations actions. Status: Ordered to be Reported by the Yeas and Nays: 40–7. * "Crimes Against Humanity", 23 British Yearbook of International Law (1946) p. 181 * Schabas [[#References|References]] pp. 16-17 * [http://www.armenian-genocide.org/Affirmation.160/current_category.7/affirmation_detail.html Original source of the telegram sent by the Department of State, Washington containing the French, British and Russian joint declaration] </ref>}} == Nuremberg trials == {{See also|Nuremberg Trials}} The [[London Charter of the International Military Tribunal]] was the decree that set down the laws and procedures by which the post-[[World War II]] Nuremberg trials were to be conducted. The charter defined that only crimes of the European [[Axis Powers]] could be tried. Article 6 stated that the Tribunal was established for the trial and punishment of the major war criminals of the European Axis countries; paragraph 6.a defined [[crime against peace|crimes against peace]], 6.b [[war crime]]s and paragraph 6.c, '''Crimes Against Humanity''' defined as {{quotation|"[[homicide|Murder]], [[exterminate|extermination]], [[Slavery|enslavement]], deportation, and other [[wikt:inhumane|inhumane]] acts committed against any [[civilian]] population, before or during the war, or persecutions on political, racial or religious grounds in execution of or in connection with any crime within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal, whether or not in violation of the domestic law of the country where perpetrated".<ref>[http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/imt/proc/imtconst.htm Nuremberg Trial Proceedings Vol. 1 Charter of the International Military Tribunal] contained in the [[Avalon Project]] archive at [[Yale Law School]]</ref> <ref name="black book"> Nicolas Werth, Karel Bartošek, Jean-Louis Panné, Jean-Louis Margolin, Andrzej Paczkowski, [[Stéphane Courtois]], ''[[The Black Book of Communism]]: Crimes, Terror, Repression'', [[Harvard University Press]], 858 pages, ISBN 0-674-07608-7, page 6.</ref>}}. In the Judgment of the International Military Tribunal for the Trial of German Major War Criminals it was also stated: {{quotation|The Tribunal therefore cannot make a general declaration that the acts before 1939 were crimes against humanity within the meaning of the Charter, but from the beginning of the war in 1939 war crimes were committed on a vast scale, which were also crimes against humanity; and insofar as the inhumane acts charged in the Indictment, and committed after the beginning of the war, did not constitute war crimes, they were all committed in execution of, or in connection with, the aggressive war, and therefore constituted crimes against humanity.<ref>[http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/imt/proc/judlawre.htm Judgement : The Law Relating to War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity] contained in the [[Avalon Project]] archive at [[Yale Law School]]</ref>}} == Apartheid == {{main|Crime of apartheid}} The systematic persecution of one racial group by another, such as occurred during the [[South African]] [[apartheid]] government, was recognized as a crime against humanity by the [[United Nations General Assembly]] in 1976.<ref>[http://www.anc.org.za/un/uncrime.htm International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid] dopted and opened for signature, ratification by General Assembly resolution 3068 (XXVIII) of [[30 November]] [[1973]]. Entry into force [[18 July]] [[1976]], in accordance with article X (10)</ref> The [[Charter of the United Nations]] (Article 13, 14, 15) makes actions of the General Assembly advisory to the Security Council.<ref>[http://www.un.org/aboutun/charter/index.html Charter of the United Nations<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> In regard to apartheid, the UN General Assembly has not made any findings, nor have apartheid-related trials for crimes against humanity been conducted. ==United Nations== The [[United Nations]] has been primarily responsible for the prosecution of crimes against humanity since it was chartered in 1948.{{Fact|date=November 2007}} The UN has been where all modern prosecutions for crimes against humanity have occurred.{{Fact|date=November 2007}} The [[International Criminal Court]] (ICC) was recently organized by the [[Rome Statute]] and the UN has delegated several crimes against humanity cases to the ICC.{{Fact|date=November 2007}} Because these cases were referred to the ICC by the UN, the ICC has broad authority and jurisdiction for these cases.{{Fact|date=November 2007}} The ICC acting without a UN referral lacks the broad jurisdiction to prosecute crimes against humanity, and cannot prosecute many cases, particularly if they occur outside of ICC-member nations. The most recent 2005 UN referral to the ICC of Darfur has not progressed well, according to many commentators.{{Fact|date=November 2007}} The first person to be handed over to the ICC was [[Thomas Lubanga]].<ref name=BBC-March-2006>Staff. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3834237.stm Q&A: International Criminal Court] BBC, [[20 March]] 2006</ref> His trial has still has not been completed. The ICC still is seeking [[Joseph Kony]].<ref name=BBC-March-2006/> When the ICC President reported to the UN regarding its progress handling this crimes against humanity case, Judge Phillipe Kirsch said "The Court does not have the power to arrest these persons. That is the responsibility of States and other actors. Without arrests, there can be no trials.<ref>Judge Philippe Kirsch (President of the International Criminal Court) [http://www.icc-cpi.int/library/organs/presidency/PK_20061009_en.pdf Address to the United Nations General Assembly] (PDF) website [http://www.icc-cpi.int ICC], [[9 October]] 2006. P. 3 </ref> The UN has not referred any further crimes against humanity cases to the ICC since March 2005.{{Fact|date=November 2007}} == UN Security Council responsibility == [[UN Security Council Resolution 1674]], adopted by the [[United Nations Security Council]] on [[28 April]] [[2006]], "reaffirms the provisions of paragraphs 138 and 139 of the 2005 [[World Summit Outcome Document]] regarding the responsibility to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity".<ref>[http://domino.un.org/UNISPAl.NSF/361eea1cc08301c485256cf600606959/e529762befa456f8852571610045ebef!OpenDocument Resolution 1674 (2006)]</ref> The [[United Nations Security Council Resolution|resolution]] commits the Council to action to protect civilians in armed conflict. == International Criminal Court == In 2002, the [[International Criminal Court]] (ICC) was established in [[The Hague]] (Netherlands) and the [[Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court|Rome Statute]] provides for the ICC to have jurisdiction over [[genocide]], crimes against humanity and [[war crimes]]. The definition of what is a "crime against humanity" for ICC proceedings has significantly broadened from its original legal definition or that used by the UN,<ref name="crimesofwar">{{cite web|url=http://www.crimesofwar.org/thebook/crimes-against-humanity.html|title=Crimes Against Humanity|accessdate=2006-07-23|author=Cherif Bassiouni}}</ref> and Article 7 of the treaty stated that: {{quotation|For the purpose of this Statute, "crime against humanity" means any of the following acts when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack<ref>[http://www.preventgenocide.org/law/icc/statute/part-a.htm#2 Rome statute of the International Criminal Court] Article 7: Crimes against humanity.</ref>: :(a) [[Homicide|Murder]]; :(b) [[Extermination]]; :(c) [[Slavery|Enslavement]]; :(d) Deportation or forcible transfer of population; :(e) [[Imprisonment]] or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law; :(f) [[Torture]]; :(g) [[Rape]], [[sexual slavery]], enforced [[prostitution]], forced [[pregnancy]], enforced [[infertility|sterilization]], or any other form of [[sexual violence]] of comparable gravity; :(h) Persecution against any identifiable group or collectivity on political, [[Human race|racial]], national, ethnic, [[Culture|cultural]], [[Religion|religious]], [[gender]] as defined in paragraph 3, or other grounds that are universally recognized as impermissible under international law, in connection with any act referred to in this paragraph or any crime within the jurisdiction of the Court; :(i) [[Forced disappearance|Enforced disappearance]] of persons; :(j) The [[crime of apartheid]]; :(k) Other inhumane acts of a similar character intentionally causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health.}} The [[Rome Statute]] Explanatory Memorandum states that crimes against humanity {{quotation|are particularly odious offences in that they constitute a serious attack on human dignity or grave humiliation or a degradation of one or more human beings. They are not isolated or sporadic events, but are part either of a government policy (although the perpetrators need not identify themselves with this policy) or of a wide practice of atrocities tolerated or condoned by a government or a de facto authority. However, murder, extermination, torture, rape, political, racial, or religious persecution and other inhumane acts reach the threshold of crimes against humanity only if they are part of a widespread or systematic practice. Isolated inhumane acts of this nature may constitute grave infringements of human rights, or depending on the circumstances, war crimes, but may fall short of meriting the stigma attaching to the category of crimes under discussion. On the other hand, an individual may be guilty of crimes against humanity even if he perpetrates one or two of the offences mentioned above, or engages in one such offence against only a few civilians, provided those offences are part of a consistent pattern of misbehavior by a number of persons linked to that offender (for example, because they engage in armed action on the same side or because they are parties to a common plan or for any similar reason.) Consequently when one or more individuals are not accused of planning or carrying out a policy of inhumanity, but simply of perpetrating specific atrocities or vicious acts, in order to determine whether the necessary threshold is met one should use the following test: one ought to look at these atrocities or acts in their context and verify whether they may be regarded as part of an overall policy or a consistent pattern of an inhumanity, or whether they instead constitute isolated or sporadic acts of cruelty and wickedness.<ref name="Horton"> As quoted by Guy Horton in ''[http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs3/Horton-2005.pdf Dying Alive - A Legal Assessment of Human Rights Violations in Burma]'' April 2005, co-Funded by The Netherlands Ministry for Development Co-Operation. See section "12.52 Crimes against humanity", p. 201. He references RSICC/C, Vol. 1 p. 360</ref>}} ==Council of Europe== The [[Committee of Ministers]] of the [[Council of Europe]] on [[30 April]] 2002 issued a recommendation to the member states, on the protection of women against violence. In the section "Additional measures concerning violence in conflict and post-conflict situations", states in paragraph 69 that member states should: "penalise rape, sexual slavery, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilisation or any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity as an intolerable violation of human rights, as crimes against humanity and, when committed in the context of an armed conflict, as war crimes;"<ref>[[Committee of Ministers]] of the [[Council of Europe]]: [http://www.coe.int/t/e/human_rights/equality/05._violence_against_women/002_Rec(2002)05.asp Recommendation (2002) 5] Paragraph 69</ref> In the Explanatory Memorandum on this recommendation when considering paragraph 69: {{quotation|Reference should be made to the [[Rome Statute|Statute of the International Criminal Tribunal]] adopted in Rome in July 1998. Article 7 of the Statute defines rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilisation or any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity, as crimes against humanity. Furthermore, Article 8 of the Statute defines rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilisation or any other form of sexual violence as a serious breach of the Geneva Conventions and as war crimes.<ref>[[Committee of Ministers]] of the [[Council of Europe]]: [http://www.coe.int/t/e/human_rights/equality/05._violence_against_women/002_Rec(2002)05.asp Recommendation (2002) 5] Paragraph 100</ref>}} To fall under the Rome Statute, a crime against humanity which is defined in Article 7.1 must be "part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population". Article 7.2.a states "For the purpose of paragraph 1: "Attack directed against any civilian population means a course of conduct involving the multiple commission of acts referred to in paragraph 1 against any civilian population, pursuant to or in furtherance of a State or organizational policy to commit such attack." This means that an individual crime on its own, or even a number of such crimes, would not fall under the Rome Statute unless they were the result of a State policy or an organizational policy. This was confirmed by [[Luis Moreno-Ocampo]] in an open letter publishing his conclusions about allegations of crimes committed during the invasion of Iraq in March 2003 which might fall under the [[International Criminal Court|ICC]]. In a section entitled "Allegations concerning Genocide and Crimes against Humanity" he states that "the available information provided no reasonable indicia of the required elements for a crime against humanity, i.e. 'a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population'".<ref> [[Luis Moreno-Ocampo]] [http://www.icc-cpi.int/library/organs/otp/OTP_letter_to_senders_re_Iraq_9_February_2006.pdf OTP letter to senders re Iraq] [[9 February]] 2006. Page 4</ref> ==Influence on the arts== *[[The Interpreter]], a film about a character allegedly based on [[Robert Mugabe]] of [[Zimbabwe]] seeking to avoid indictment by the [[UN Security Council]] for trial before the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity. *In Season/Day 4 of ''[[24 (TV series)|24]]'', a FOX Television Series, the Secretary of Defense, James Heller ([[William Devane]]) was captured by a terrorist cell in order to be tried for crimes against humanity. *In the [[Sci Fi Channel (United States)|Sci-Fi Channel]] series [[Battlestar Galactica]], several military personnel were tried for crimes against humanity by an independent committee of Six personnel chosen to secretly apprehend, try and execute offenders for complying with [[Cylon]] control during the events on [[New Caprica]]. ==See also== {{Portal|Genocide|GenocidePortalLogo(ESR)2.JPG}} *[[Nuremberg Principles]] *[[International crime]] *[[Crime against chastity]] *[[Command responsibility]] *[[George Washington Williams]] *[[Historical revisionism (negationism)]] *[[War crimes]] *[[Genocide]] *[[Mass murder]] *[[Democide]] *[[Ethnic cleansing]] *''[[Völkerstrafgesetzbuch]]'' *[[Crime of apartheid]] *[[Council of Europe]] *[[Charter of the United Nations]] *[[:Category:People convicted of crimes against humanity]] ==References== *William A. Schabas, ''Genocide in International Law: The Crimes of Crimes'', Cambridge University Press, 2000, ==Footnotes== <div class="references-small"> <references /> </div> ==External links== *[http://www.crimesofwar.org/thebook/crimes-against-humanity.html Crimes of War project] * [http://www.pinkyshow.org/archives/episodes/061211/061211_crimehumanity.html ''What is a Crime Against Humanity?''] - an online video. *[http://netnebraska.org/extras/humanrights/02gen/0200/0200_01.htm Genocide & Crimes Against Humanity] - a learning resource, highlighting the cases of Myanmar, Bosnia, the DRC, and Darfur {{International Criminal Law}} [[Category:Human rights abuses]] [[Category:International criminal law]] [[Category:Core issues in ethics]] [[Category:Torture]] [[Category:War crimes]] [[ca:Crim contra la humanitat]] [[cy:Trosedd yn erbyn dynoliaeth]] [[da:Forbrydelse mod menneskeheden]] [[de:Verbrechen gegen die Menschlichkeit]] [[et:Inimsusevastane kuritegu]] [[es:Crimen contra la humanidad]] [[fr:Crime contre l'humanité]] [[gl:Crime de lesa humanidade]] [[id:Kejahatan kemanusiaan]] [[it:Crimine contro l'umanità]] [[he:פשע נגד האנושות]] [[lt:Nusikaltimai žmoniškumui]] [[nl:Misdaden tegen de menselijkheid]] [[ja:人道に対する罪]] [[no:Forbrytelse mot menneskeheten]] [[pl:Zbrodnia przeciwko ludzkości]] [[pt:Crime contra a humanidade]] [[sl:Zločin proti človeštvu]] [[sr:Злочин против човечности]] [[sh:Zločin protiv čovečnosti]] [[fi:Rikos ihmisyyttä vastaan]] [[sv:Brott mot mänskligheten]] [[vi:Tội ác chống nhân loại]] [[zh:危害人类罪]]