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Former Liberian President Charles Taylor flanked by uniformed guards waits for the start of his appeal judgement on September 26, 2013 in the courtroom of the Special Court for Sierra Leone in The Hague.

The Draft Convention on Crimes Against Humanity Should Enshrine the Highest Standards of International Law

While it contains laudable provisions, it is silent on certain fundamental issues, and some clauses set out the lowest common denominator.
A Bosnian Muslim signs a book in a makeshift memorial for Bosnian Muslim victims on November 22, 2017 in The Hague, The Netherlands. Photographs dangle on strings at the memorial.

The Relay Race of Defining Crimes Against Humanity – From the International Tribunals to the Draft Articles

At times the baton was dropped; at other times, drafters successfully overcame the hurdles in the process, as with the ICC Statute.
Funeral workers carry a body bag containing the remains of Arvin Arbuis through a grave site. A procession of people follow.

ICC Investigation of Philippines President Duterte Sends Important Signals

It tells other governments that they may not obtain retroactive impunity for their crimes by withdrawing from the ICC treaty.
Diane Foley, the mother of slain ISIS hostage James Foley, stands alongside the parents of slain ISIS hostage Kayla Mueller, Carl Mueller and Marsha Mueller, and family members of 2 other slain ISIS hostages, following the guilty pleas by Alexanda Kotey, a member of the notorious Islamic State kidnapping cell dubbed the "Beatles," to charges of conspiring to murder four American hostages, including Mueller and Foley, outside the the US District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, September 2, 2021.

Impact-Based Jurisdiction and Crimes Against Humanity Statutes Are Needed for Effective Accountability

The answer is to fully enact international criminal law at the national level and to provide for its maximum reach.
Norng Chan Phal, who survived internment at the Tuol Sleng prison known as S-21 as a child, looks at portraits of victims of the Khmer Rouge regime displayed at Tuol Sleng genocide museum in Phnom Penh on September 2, 2020.

Crimes of Omission: Why a UN Treaty on Genocide but Not on Crimes Against Humanity?

It is a matter of historical curiosity, and it's time for the UN to reunite genocide with its genus by concluding a parallel treaty.
Syrian defendant Eyad al-Gharib, accused of crimes against humanity in the first trial of its kind to emerge from the Syrian conflict, arrives to hear his verdict in the court room on February 24, 2021 in Koblenz, western Germany. He holds up a document or folder to hide his face as two officers in bullet proof vests touch him and move him forward.

Striking the Right Balance for a Draft Convention on Crimes against Humanity

A successful treaty will prompt States to adopt stronger national laws and cooperate with each other to stop atrocities.
Norng Chan Phal, who survived internment at the Tuol Sleng prison known as S-21 as a child, looks at skulls displayed at the Tuol Sleng genocide museum in Phnom Penh on September 2, 2020.

As the Draft Crimes Against Humanity Treaty Moves Forward, a View on How It Relates to the Rome Statute for the ICC

Crimes against humanity is the only international crime not governed by its own treaty. It's time to formally recognize such heinous conduct.
A view of the room where the session is held at International Court Of Justice on January 23, 2020 in The Hague, Netherlands. The judges sit in a room at the front of the room. People fill the rest of the seats in the room.

Towards a New Treaty on Crimes Against Humanity: Next Steps

Such a convention could dispel the notion that only genocide deserves international sanction and attention.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid addresses a press conference in Kabul on September 7, 2021. Flags of the Taliban stand on both sides of the desk he sits at.

Between Legitimacy and Control: The Taliban’s Pursuit of Governmental Status

Recognition of a government involves calculations of both law and politics. What factors will influence States' response to the Taliban?
Bosnian Muslim women, family members of victims of Srebrenica 1995 massacre, gather prior to the burial ceremony of caskets with body remains of their relatives at the memorial cemetery in village of Potocari, near Eastern-Bosnian town of Srebrenica, on July 11, 2021.

Deceptive Report Escalates Srebrenica Genocide Denial Campaign

It now becomes a permanent part of the brazen refusal by Bosnia's Serb authorities to own up to the atrocities committed in their name.
Onlookers, including children, stand next to the backpacks and books of victims following yesterday's multiple blasts outside a girls' school in Dasht-e-Barchi on the outskirts of Kabul on May 9, 2021.

As Troops Withdraw from Afghanistan, the UN Needs to Act

It is time for the U.N. Human Rights Council to establish an independent international investigation into human rights atrocities in Afghanistan.
H.E. Mr Fazal Ahmad Manawi Minister of Justice of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Mrs Fatou Bensouda, Prosecutor of the ICC, and H.E. Mr Mohammad Haneef Atmar, Minister of Foreign Affairs stand together for a photo at the Seat of the Court in The Hague, The Netherlands, on Friday, 7 May 2021. An ICC banner and flag stand behind them.

The US Should Respect the ICC’s Founding Mandate

An American Society of International Law task force recommends ways to improve the Court, but some of the advice seems to undermine the goal.
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