Increasing Momentum in 2023 on a New Crimes Against Humanity Treaty

2023 saw momentum build in favor of the International Law Commission’s Draft Articles on Crimes Against Humanity. Amidst global challenges, states are rallying around the cause of preventing and punishing crimes against humanity and protecting and enhancing human dignity. Spring and fall saw progress on substantive elements of the treaty through discussion among State representatives in March, April, and October.

Important Preparatory Events Held Prior to Resumed Sixth Committee Session in New York

On March 13-14, 2023, the Permanent Mission of Germany to the United Nations, joined by the Permanent Mission of France, hosted a two-day workshop on a Convention on Crimes Against Humanity to discuss the ILC 2019 Draft Articles. Organized by Professor Leila Nadya Sadat, and open to all UN Member States and civil society, the […]

Crimes Against Humanity Treaty Moves Forward in 2022

2022 saw important advances in the work to negotiate a new global treaty on crimes against humanity. The Spring was devoted to developing a series of practical procedural options that States wishing to advance to negotiations could use to bypass what seemed to be an intractable block posed by the consensus tradition in the U.N. […]

CAH Initiative and Global Justice Center Circulate Letter to UN Sixth Committee Representatives

Crimes Against Humanity Initiative Director Leila Nadya Sadat and Global Justice Center Akila Radkrishnan have been closely following the work of the UN Sixth Committee delegates as they debate the International Law Commission’s draft articles on crimes against humanity. The negotiations have been very productive this year, but there remain some holdouts which could block […]

U.N. Sixth Committee and General Assembly Pass Resolutions on Crimes Against Humanity

The U.N. Sixth Committee considered the ILC’s Draft Articles on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Humanity in October 2020. In large part due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s limitations on working methods at the United Nations, the Committee was again unable to agree on a way forward in 2020 and instead opted for a […]

Virtual Event on Crimes Against Humanity

On July 24, 2020, an Inter-sessional Dialogue on the Way Forward on a Global Convention on Crimes Against Humanity was hosted virtually by the Permanent Missions of Sierra Leone, Austria, Czech Republic, Mexico, and New Zealand to the United Nations, in collaboration with Florida International University and the Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute. Over 200 people […]

CUNY and MADRE Host Experts’ Meeting to Discuss Gender and the ILC Convention on Crimes Against Humanity

On March 12th, the experts’ meeting Re-imagining Justice: Ending Impunity for Gender-Based Crimes was convened at CUNY School of Law to discuss the International Law Commission’s 2017 Draft Articles on Crimes Against Humanity, with a focus on women’s rights and gender persecution. The meeting brought together over 30 international and regional experts and scholars in […]

Civil Society Begins Consideration of the ILC 2017 Draft Articles on Crimes Against Humanity

On Friday, March 9th, a diverse group of participants gathered at Matrix Chambers in London to discuss the International Law Commission’s 2017 Draft Articles on Crimes Against Humanity. These Draft Articles, which were submitted to the General Assembly in fall 2017, mark an important step towards achieving a new global convention on preventing and punishing […]