c. The attack is directed against any civilian population. The subject civilian
population must be the primary object of the attack and not just an
incidental victim. This element addresses the broader attack, not the
immediate victim of the defendant's action. "Any" denotes the need to
identify some characteristic used to distinguish this group, i.e. a trait or
location, from a more general population. This may be limited as in the
ICTR Statute (only national, political, ethnic, racial, or religious
discrimination), however, with the exception of persecution there is no
specific discriminatory intent required. The idea of "population" requires
more than just an isolated or random act against a few individuals.
d. The attack is systematic or widespread. This addresses the larger scale of
the attack, i.e. the number of victims or the organized nature of the acts.
e. The defendant must know of the attack and that hisher acts are part of
that attack or may further that attack. This is the key mens rea element
that distinguishes Crimes Against Humanity.
- In addition to these general requirements, there must be a foundational crime,
likely to be identified in the courts statute, i.e. murder, enslavement,
deportation, torture, rape, etc.
- The idea that the offense is a "crime against humanity" derives from the
notion that the act injures not just the victim(s), but tears at the fabric of what
it means to be human.
- Differs from war crimes because:
a. War crimes require an armed conflict whereas Crimes Against Humanity
do not.
b. War crimes do not require a connection to a widespread or systematic
attack.
c. War crimes are a broader category of offenses, some of which could be
the underlyng foundational offense for a Crime Against Humanity. Note
that the additional element to prove a crime against humanity overcomes
problems of multiplicious charging for a single act.
- Differs from Genocide because:
