In negotiating the Crimes Against Humanity Convention, states must take a survivor-centric approach. Centering survivors is essential to minimize and repair the harms caused by crimes against humanity, treat survivors with dignity and respect, and facilitate the healing process and the restoration of their autonomy and rights.

Reproductive autonomy is an individual’s ability to exercise agency over their fertility, including their choice about whether and in what circumstances to reproduce. It is inseparable from human dignity and bodily autonomy, and its violation has profound physical, psychological, social, and economic consequences for affected individuals, families, and communities. Rights related to reproductive autonomy are protected in international and regional human rights instruments.

The inclusion of forced marriage as a standalone violation in the forthcoming Convention on Crimes Against Humanity is essential for preventing and providing redress for this harm. States should: Add forced marriage as a standalone violation to the list of prohibited acts in Article 2(1) of the draft Crimes Against Humanity Convention.

We, the undersigned individuals and organizations, are writing regarding the Draft Articles on Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Humanity, currently under your consideration. We applaud the Sixth Committee’s leadership on and engagement with the draft articles. April’s resumed session discussion was an indisputable advance. Progress is being made to form the basis for actual negotiations of a new crimes against humanity convention that would have significant potential to advance protection for civilian populations at risk as well as justice for gender-based crimes.

It is imperative that the 2019 Draft articles on Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Humanity (the “Draft Crimes Against Humanity Convention”) protect the value of “reproductive autonomy,” meaning the right of every individual to exercise agency over their fertility; their choice about whether, and in what circumstances, to reproduce.

Under the crimes against humanity category of ‘other inhumane acts’, acts of forced marriage have been successfully prosecuted at the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), and the International Criminal Court (ICC). In those cases, forced marriage was classified under the category of ‘other inhumane acts’ because it was not explicitly listed in the statutes of any of those tribunals. The drafting of the Crimes Against Humanity Convention represents an ideal opportunity to rectify this oversight and explicitly recognize forced marriage as a standalone prohibited act.