Resolution Sets Time-Bound Process for Adopting World’s First Stand-alone Treaty on Crimes Against Humanity The United Nations Sixth Committee today adopted by consensus a resolution to advance a draft treaty on crimes against humanity to negotiations. Once adopted by the General Assembly next month, states will negotiate the first stand-alone treaty that explicitly addresses state responsibility to prevent and punish crimes against humanity. Today’s resolution calls for a concrete and time-bound process consisting of preparatory sessions in 2026 and 2027, and three-week negotiations in 2028 and 2029, where a treaty will be finalized. “Today’s resolution is a historic breakthrough toward a crimes against humanity treaty,” said Kelly Adams, legal advisor at the Global Justice Center. “Despite the proliferation of crimes against humanity around the world, negotiations on this treaty have been delayed time and again. But today’s decision paves the way for a treaty, which will offer crucial tools to prevent and punish these most extreme rights violations.” The current draft treaty was developed over six years by the International Law Commission, a UN expert body charged with developing and codifying international law. For more information on the draft treaty, visit cahtreatynow.org. Although crimes against humanity are defined under various treaties, including the Rome Statute that established the International Criminal Court, there is currently no treaty which expressly addresses states’ responsibilities to prevent or punish these crimes. This gap distinguishes crimes against humanity from war crimes and genocide, each of which has its own dedicated treaty (the Geneva Conventions and the Genocide Convention, respectively). Negotiations for a new treaty present a unique opportunity to better advance justice for gender-based crimes, among other issues. In October 2023, a collection of human rights organizations and international law experts published a letter and several briefs that proposed changes to the draft treaty that focused on incorporating crimes like forced marriage, reproductive violence, and gender apartheid. A growing number of UN member states have expressed support for the inclusion of these crimes in a future treaty. “At present, treaty provisions have yet to catch up to the lived experiences of victims of sexual and gender-based crimes and judicial findings that acknowledge this fuller scope of harms,” said Adams. “A strong, progressive, and survivor-centric treaty will ensure international and domestic systems are better equipped to prevent, punish, and ensure redress for systematic or widespread attacks on civilians involving sexual and gender-based violence.” The General Assembly is expected to make a decision on the draft resolution in early December 2024.

Donald Trump was elected president of the United States for a second term on Tuesday. Human rights experts have issued grave warnings about the potential for extreme rights abuses under his new administration. The Global Justice Center (GJC) mounted several challenges to President Trump during his first term. It sued the Trump administration in 2020 over its unlawful creation of a commission tasked with redefining human rights to reflect a narrow, singular religious tradition that excluded marginalized communities. GJC also opposed the Trump administration’s expansion of restrictions on US funding of reproductive healthcare abroad, as well as his administration’s sanctions on the International Criminal Court. Elise Keppler, executive director of the Global Justice Center, issued the following statement: “The Global Justice Center joins its friends, partners, and supporters today in recognizing the severe threat a second Trump administration poses to human rights everywhere. Our movement’s vision for a gender-equal world free from violence is in direct opposition to President-elect Trump’s plans for renewed attacks on abortion care, women’s rights, LGBTQ equality, and essential international institutions. There is no doubt that today’s election makes it much harder to build the world we want. “Despite these immense challenges, we must also acknowledge yesterday’s historic victories. At a time when the country is gripped by a human rights crisis around abortion access and non-discriminatory access to healthcare broadly, several US states passed ballot initiatives that either advanced abortion rights or solidified existing protections for abortion care. In New York, for example, Proposition 1 enshrined both gender equality and abortion rights. This progress should be applauded and nurtured. “We are in for the fight of our lives. Still, we know that the human rights and feminist movements were born from struggle. Today, we double down on our commitment to global gender equality, no matter what forces stand in our way.”

Statement Circulated Ahead of UN Session on the Draft Treaty Human rights organizations based in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, the Americas, and Europe — as well as leading international law and human rights experts — today urged UN member states to advance the draft text for a crimes against humanity treaty to negotiations. This joint statement is being circulated among government representatives as they meet today to begin a UN session that could advance the draft treaty. Today’s statement recognizes that, despite the global spread of atrocities like murder, enslavement, and deportation, there has yet to be a treaty regulating the prevention and punishment of crimes against humanity. Such a treaty would “close a crucial gap” in the current international framework on mass atrocities. Signers of the statement also support an inclusive treaty-making process and will advocate for a final treaty that is gender-competent, survivor-centric, and deploys an intersectional lens. “Experts and activists around the world are sending a clear message to their governments ahead of this historic UN session: advance to negotiations for a crimes against humanity treaty,” said Kelly Adams, legal advisor at the Global Justice Center. “Victims of crimes against humanity need this accountability tool, and governments have an opportunity to stand with them by advancing to negotiations.” Today’s joint statement was initially released in March of this year. Since then, hundreds of additional organizations and human rights experts have signed on and urged their governments to take a position on the draft treaty. A petition circulated by Avaaz that urges support for treaty negotiations also has received more than 500,000 signatures from people around the world. Additional statements of support, as well as key information on the draft treaty, can be found at cahtreatynow.org. UN Sixth Committee proceedings on the draft treaty can be viewed on UN Web TV.