Ambassadors heard presentations by the Chief Justice of the United Nations, the Chief Human Rights Officer and a law professor from Oxford University, who argued for the adoption of a convention on the prevention and punishment of crimes against humanity.

A draft prepared by the International Law Commission, an expert body of the United Nations, is currently being considered by the General Assembly.

“The adoption of a convention on crimes against humanity would be a way to promote accountability for violations of some of the most fundamental obligations of international law,” said Justice Joan E. Donoghue, President of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

“The Court stands ready to decide any dispute for which it would have jurisdiction on the basis of such a convention,” she added.

The ICJ resolves legal disputes brought to it by countries, and its judgments are binding. However, Justice Donoghue said the Court must convince national governments that it has the jurisdiction to do so.

Recognize the jurisdiction of the ICJ

The ICJ can consider petitions, and any counter petitions, if both parties agree to its jurisdiction, said Judge Donoghue, who spoke by video conference from The Hague, Netherlands, where the court is based.

In other cases, jurisdiction is limited, as when clauses of certain international conventions – on genocide or racial discrimination, for example – have been invoked as the basis of jurisdiction.

“Today, as armed conflicts and mass atrocities continue to cause human suffering in various parts of the world, I take this opportunity to remind Member States that the Court can promote accountability only to the extent where Member States grant it the competence to do so,” she said.

Strengthen the normative framework

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, has called for strengthening the normative and institutional framework to further strengthen the legal basis for accountability and justice efforts.

“The adoption of a Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Humanity would, in my view, fill an important gap in the current international framework and would facilitate international cooperation in this area,” she said. from Geneva.

The relevant treaties that provide the jurisdictional basis for accountability deserve universal adherence, she added, and should be ratified by all states.

They include the Rome Statute, the 1998 treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC), which prosecutes war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

Ms. Bachelet encouraged all states to accept the compulsory jurisdiction of the ICC “in the common interest of the entire international community”.

The support of the UN Security Council for independent and impartial investigation, justice and accountability efforts is essential, she added, while stressing the importance of placing victims at the heart of these efforts.

“It’s not just the right thing to do, in recognition of the victims on whose behalf these processes were created. But it also helps to identify and address the conditions that led to the serious violations in the first place,” she said.

The crime of aggression

For Professor Dapo Akande of the University of Oxford, the adoption of the draft convention “will ensure that the framework for the repression of crimes against humanity will be placed on the same level as that for genocide and war crimes”. .

Mr. Akande further said that the focus on accountability is incomplete as the fourth international crime – aggression – is often ignored.

“To improve the normative framework for accountability for all international crimes, States should consider ratifying the amendments on the crime of aggression to allow the ICC to exercise jurisdiction over this supreme international crime,” said he declared.