- 18 U.S.C. $2441 now permits prosecuticns for violations of Common
Article 3 in the U.S. federal court system.
I. Genocide. In 1948, the U.N. General Assembly defined this crime to consist of
killing and other acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a
national, ethnic, racial, or religious group, "whether committed in time of peace
or in time of war." Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime
of Genocide, opened for signature Dec. 11, 1948, art. 2, 78 U.N.T.S. 277
(entered into force Jan. 12, 1951). U.S. ratification was given advice and
consent by Senate in the Genocide Convention Implementation (Proxmire) Act
of 1987, Pub. L. No. 100-606, 102 Stat. 3045 (codified at 18 U.S.C. $ 1091).J. Other Treaties. Violations of treaties to which the United States is a party also
create bases for criminal liability. For example, the 1993 Chemical Weapons
Convention and the 1980 Conventional Weapons Convention.
K. Conspiracy, Incitement, Attempts, and Complicity. International law allows for
punishment of these forms of crime. GPW, art. 129 (subjecting to penal
sanctions "persons alleged to have committed, or to have ordered to be
committed" serious war crimes) (emphasis added); Allied Control Council Law
No. 10, art. 11, para. 2, Dec. 20, 1945, reprinted in 1 TRIALS OF WAR C~INALS
16; S. C. Res. 827, U.N. SCOR, U.N. DOC. SIRES1827 (1993), art.7; S. C. Res.
955, U.N. SCOR, U.N.DOC S/RES/955, art. 6; FM 27-10,T 500.
L. Distinctives of Crimes against Humanity:
- General Requirements of Crimes against Humanity:
a. There is an "attack." This is distinct from any ongoing armed conflict. An
attack for these purposes does not require an ongoing internal or
international armed conflict but may be conducted by a regime against its
own people. This differs from the original definition in Article 6(c) of the
Nuremburg Charter that required a nexus to an armed conflict and reflects
a change in customary international law. See Antonio Cassese, Crimes
Against Humanity, in Cassese, Gaeta and Jones, eds., THE ROMESTATUTE
OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT,~01. 1, at 356.b. There is a nexus between that attack and the act(s) of the accused.
Requires an act by the defendant, which by its nature or consequences is
liable to further the attack AND the defendant knows that there is this
broader attack and helshe is part of it.