Atrocity crime

The term "crimes against humanity" has been applied to a wide range of acts and is often seen as broader than the other three mass atrocity crimes. While crimes against humanity can include many acts that also constitute war crimes, genocide, or ethnic cleansing, it bears distinguishing characteristics. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity may be committed in times of war or peace and can only be committed against civilian populations. Unlike genocide, the acts need not be targeted against a specific group. Despite not being the subject of a dedicated treaty, the prohibition against crimes against humanity is considered customary international law and an established norm, meaning it is binding on all states without exception. The term has a long history of use both in political and legal contexts. Crimes against humanity, and similar terms, were used in the 18th century and early 19th century to describe slavery and atrocities committed as part of colonialism. Since then the term has been used and defined in similar, but variant ways by the Nuremberg Tribunal, Tokyo Tribunal, International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and International Criminal Court. The statute defines crimes against humanity as any of the following acts when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack: :(a) Murder. :(b) Extermination; :(c) Enslavement; :(d) Deportation or forcible transfer of population; :(e) Imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law; :(f) Torture; :(g) Rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization, or any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity; :(h) Persecution against any identifiable group or collectivity on political, racial, national, ethnic, cultural, religious, gender...or other grounds that are universally recognized as impermissible under international law, in connection with any act referred to in this paragraph or any crime within the jurisdiction of the Court; :(i) Enforced disappearance of persons; :(j) The crime of apartheid; :(k) Other inhumane acts of a similar character intentionally causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health. == Genocide ==

At its most essential, "genocide" is acts committed with the intent to destroy a particular group. This destruction may be achieved by both fatal and non-fatal acts, ranging from slavery to rape and from mass killings to forced sterilizations. Like crimes against humanity, genocide can occur in times of peace or war. Genocide is characterized, in large part, by its specific intent requirement. While many of the constitutive acts of genocide are captured by the other atrocity crimes, and in fact were tried under crimes against humanity in the Nuremberg trials, modern conceptions note that the targeting of a protected group for destruction is unique to genocide. Like crimes against humanity, the prohibition of genocide is customary international law and an established norm, meaning it is binding on all states without exception. In addition, it has been codified and included in the jurisdiction of several international adjudicatory bodies, including the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and the International Criminal Court. In 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide (also known as the Genocide Convention), a dedicated treaty establishing multilateral obligations to act in the face of genocide. Article II of the Genocide Convention defines genocide as "...any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group": :(a) Killing members of the group; :(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; :(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; :(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; :(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group. == War crimes ==

War crimes are serious violations of the laws and customs governing armed conflict. The definition has evolved over time to include actions that occur not just in war between states, but also internal armed conflicts. War crimes run parallel to international humanitarian law — both contained primarily in the Geneva Conventions. International humanitarian law encompasses a wide range of treatment that different categories of only protected persons are entitled to, such as the humane treatment of enemy civilians under belligerent military occupations and non-discriminatory medical care for the wounded and sick or minimum conditions of detention for prisoners of war. Conversely, acts that rise to the level of war crimes are those with a particularly grave effect on persons, objects, and important values that give rise to criminal responsibility. The Geneva Conventions that emerged after World War II, as well as the Additional Protocols, provide the most robust framing of the laws of armed conflict. == Ethnic cleansing ==

The term "ethnic cleansing" encompasses a broad range of unlawful actions with the intent of removing a group from a specific area. It can also be carried out through harassment and threats. Its relationship with genocide is particularly complicated due to the overlap in the intent to target a particular "national, ethnical, racial or religious group." Ethnic cleansing is often discussed in tandem with genocide. For example, the International Court of Justice determined that most of the acts committed in Bosnia by Serb forces were "ethnic cleansing," but fell short of genocide. What distinguishes ethnic cleansing from genocide is intent. == Legal jurisdiction ==

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) only has jurisdiction over those who have committed crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide, or crimes of aggression. Its jurisdiction is further limited to crimes that occurred within the territory of a state that has accepted the jurisdiction of the ICC (through ratification of the Rome Statute or otherwise) and to situations referred to it by the UN Security Council. International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) is the United Nations court established in 1993 to prosecute mass atrocity crimes committed in the Balkans in the 1990s. It addresses crimes committed from 1991 to 2001 against members of various ethnic groups in the former Yugoslavia — Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo and Macedonia. This was the first war crimes court established by the UN as well as the first international war crimes tribunal since the Nuremberg and Tokyo tribunals. It has also set the precedent for individualized guilt in order to protect entire communities from being labelled "collectively responsible." The ICTY has indicted over 160 individuals. (ICTR) is an international court established by the UN Security Council to prosecute individuals of genocide and other mass atrocity crimes committed in Rwanda and neighboring states between January 1, 1994 and December 31, 1994. It is also the first tribunal to define rape as a means of committing genocide as well as to hold members of media responsible for broadcasts as a tool of genocide. The ICTR's last trial judgement was on December 20, 2012 and is now working on appeals only. International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. It can hear two types of cases: contentious and advisory. Contentious cases are legal disputes between states which can only be brought by states. The only mass atrocity crime that the ICJ has jurisdiction over is genocide. Its jurisdiction was established explicitly in the Genocide Convention. Unlike the tribunals discussed above, the ICJ cannot determine individual criminal responsibility. It can clarify and interpret the Genocide Convention as well as hold states accountable for the commission or the failure to prevent or punish genocide. == Diplomatic agreements ==

Responsibility to protect At the 2005 World Summit, the United Nations member states made a commitment to protect against genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity. This document is not binding legal agreement, but rather reaffirms all states' responsibility to protect their own populations from atrocity crimes. It additionally holds the international community responsible for holding other states' accountable for their populations. In accordance with Chapters VI, VII, and VIII of the United Nations charter, the United Nations acknowledged at the summit its responsibility to help protect all populations through peaceful means, as well as through collective action when necessary. == See also ==