UN Member States are currently considering Draft Articles on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Humanity. The Draft Articles offer an opportunity to fill a critical gap in international law on mass atrocities and advance gender justice.
This workshop provided members of civil society attending the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women with an overview of the Draft Articles and a forum to exchange views on them. It convened experts in international law, including some who have co-authored legal briefs on proposals to make the draft articles gender-competent, survivor-centric, and intersectional.
In collaboration with the Malala Fund and the Atlantic Council, IPI hosted a high-level panel discussion to mark International Women’s Day on March 8th. The event addressed the harrowing reality of millions of women and girls living under systematic oppression at the hands of the Taliban and highlighted the ongoing efforts of Afghan women and the international, legal, and research communities to ensure justice for these abuses—in particular, the momentum around efforts to codify the crime of gender apartheid.
The event was co-sponsored by the Global Justice Center, Rawadari, the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, and the Permanent Missions of Mexico and Malta.
Opening/Closing Remarks:Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, President and Chief Executive Officer, International Peace InstituteH.E. Vanessa Frazier, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Malta to the UNH.E. Alicia Buenrostro Massieu, Deputy Permanent Representative of Mexico to the UN
Speakers:Malala Yousafzai, Nobel Peace LaureateNayera Kohistani, Afghan Activist and ExpertPenelope Andrews, John Marshall Harlan II Professor of Law & Director, Racial Justice Project, New York Law SchoolDorothy Estrada-Tanck, Chair, UN Working Group on Discrimination against Women and Girls
Moderator:Jomana Karadsheh, International Correspondent, CNN
Link to event agenda
Leila Sadat (James Carr Professor of International Criminal Law, Director, Crimes Against Humanity Initiative, Washington University School of Law)
On December 10, the world will commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which forever enshrined the rights to life, health, bodily integrity, non-discrimination, sexual and reproductive rights, and more. Just a week later, reproductive rights activists in the United States will mark 50 years since the passage of the Helms Amendment, a disastrous US foreign policy that has restricted essential abortion care and decimated health networks worldwide. All the while post-Roe v. Wade abortion bans wreak havoc across the country. Join us for a timely and compelling conversation about how the US has fallen behind and fallen down on protecting people’s human rights, particularly to abortion and bodily autonomy.
Sian Norris, Investigative Journalist
Anu Kumar, President & CEO, Ipas
Akila Radhakrishnan, President, Global Justice Center
Payal Shah, Director, Program on Sexual Violence in Conflict Zones, Physicians for Human Rights
Jean-Claude Mulunda, Director, Ipas Democratic Republic of Congo
Moderator
Speakers
Join us for a panel discussion on the new Secretary-General Guidance Note on Transitional Justice as a Strategic Tool for People, Prevention and Peace and the role of civil society organizations in strengthening transitional justice policy, including in the multilateral space.
The absence of an international convention on crimes against humanity is a critical gap in the international legal framework deprives populations at serious risk of needed protections, especially as these egregious crimes proliferate regions around the world.
On 18 November 2022, the U.N. General Assembly’s Sixth Committee adopted a draft resolution on the International Law Commission (ILC)’s 2019 Draft articles on Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Humanity, which established a two-year process for the exchange of “substantive views” on “all aspects” of the draft articles, including two intersessional resumed sessions of the Sixth Committee in April 2023 and April 2024, with a decision on next steps for the draft articles to be taken at the UN General Assembly in Fall 2024. A new international crimes against humanity treaty based on these draft articles would require states to prevent and punish crimes against humanity in their national laws, either prosecute crimes against humanity or extradite suspects to a jurisdiction that could do so, and provides for interstate cooperation on crimes against humanity.
We are now halfway through the current two-year deliberation process. The purpose of this workshop is to provide members of civil society attending the Assembly of States Parties with an overview of the draft articles and the ongoing process and provide a forum to contextualize progress, hurdles, and opportunities. The workshop aims to broaden the community of civil society actors who are equipped to engage on the draft articles, with the ultimate aim of creating a broad constituency pushing for the adoption of a robust treaty to prevent and punish crimes against humanity.
The workshop will convene experts in international law who have closely tracked the development of the draft articles to highlight key developments and challenges, strategize on how to advance the convention, and share ideas to continue to improve the draft articles’ substance, including on sexual and gender-based crimes.
Introduction - Emily Kenney, Policy Specialist, Rule of Law and Transitional Justice, UN Women (5 minutes)
Origin of the Draft articles on Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Humanity, relationship to other relevant conventions, and ongoing United Nations deliberation process (55 minutes)
Moderators:
Suggested discussion questions: Why is a crimes against humanity treaty needed; where did the draft articles originate; how do the draft articles relate to other criminal treaties e.g. the Rome Statute and the Ljubljana-The Hague mutual legal assistance convention; what is the current political process and which states are supportive; key takeaways from the Sixth Committee’s April resumed session and October debate
Opportunities for civil society advocacy, engagement, and progressive development of the law (60 minutes)
Suggested discussion questions: What are opportunities for progressive development of the law in the draft articles e.g. on gender apartheid, the slave trade, reproductive violence, forced marriage, victim/survivor rights, persecution, enforced disappearances, and environmental crimes, among others; what civil society advocacy is currently happening around the treaty; what are key upcoming moments for engagement; how can we build civil society momentum outside of New York