{"id":43655,"date":"2024-11-24T05:36:05","date_gmt":"2024-11-24T00:06:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=43655"},"modified":"2025-05-06T04:31:56","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T23:01:56","slug":"un-advances-toward-landmark-crimes-against-humanity-treaty-historic-resolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/un-advances-toward-landmark-crimes-against-humanity-treaty-historic-resolution\/","title":{"rendered":"UN Advances Toward Landmark Crimes Against Humanity Treaty | Historic Resolution"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>What\u2019s in today\u2019s article?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Why in News?<\/li>\n<li>Laws governing the conflict<\/li>\n<li>Need for a treaty dealing with Crimes Against Humanity Treaty<\/li>\n<li>Step towards a Crimes Against Humanity Treaty<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Why in News?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The UN General Assembly&#8217;s legal committee approved a landmark resolution on <strong>November 22, 2024<\/strong>, initiating negotiations for the first-ever treaty to prevent and punish crimes against humanity.<\/li>\n<li>This step followed intense negotiations, culminating in Russia withdrawing amendments that could have derailed the process.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Laws governing the conflict<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>1949 Geneva Conventions<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The <strong>1949 Geneva Conventions<\/strong> are a set of four international treaties establishing humanitarian protections during armed conflicts.<\/li>\n<li>They safeguard wounded soldiers, prisoners of war, and civilians, emphasizing humane treatment and non-combatant rights.<\/li>\n<li>Ratified by 196 countries, these conventions form the cornerstone of international humanitarian law, ensuring accountability and limiting the horrors of war.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions (1977)<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Two protocols that expand protections to cover civil wars and non-international conflicts, reinforcing humanitarian principles.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>International Humanitarian Law<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The <strong>Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC)<\/strong>, also known as <strong>International Humanitarian Law (IHL)<\/strong>, governs the conduct of warfare.<\/li>\n<li>It aims to protect those who are not actively participating in hostilities, such as civilians, medical personnel, and prisoners of war.<\/li>\n<li>It sets out rules to limit the methods and means of warfare, ensuring humanitarian protections and minimizing suffering.<\/li>\n<li>Key instruments include the <strong>Geneva Conventions<\/strong> and <strong>Hague Regulations<\/strong>, focusing on humane treatment during conflicts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Hague Conventions (1899, 1907)<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>These address the laws of war and war crimes, focusing on the conduct of hostilities, treatment of prisoners, and protection of civilians and cultural property.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>International Criminal Court (ICC) Statute (1998)<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Established to prosecute individuals for crimes such as war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide, ensuring accountability for violations of IHL.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>United Nations Charter (1945)<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Governs the use of force in international relations, emphasizing the prohibition of aggressive war and the right of self-defense.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Why a Separate Treaty for Crimes Against Humanity is Necessary?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Existing Legal Gaps<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>While global treaties address war crimes, genocide, and torture, there is no comprehensive international treaty specifically targeting crimes against humanity.<\/li>\n<li>This creates a legal vacuum, leaving many atrocities unaddressed and perpetrators unpunished.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Limitations of the International Criminal Court (ICC)<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The ICC can prosecute crimes against humanity but lacks jurisdiction over nearly 70 countries, including major nations like the United States, China, and India.<\/li>\n<li>A treaty would strengthen the international legal framework by ensuring a universal mechanism for prosecution and accountability.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Broad Scope of Crimes Against Humanity<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Crimes against humanity include murder, rape, sexual slavery, enforced disappearances, torture, and deportation, often committed as part of widespread attacks on civilians.<\/li>\n<li>A dedicated treaty would comprehensively define these crimes and establish uniform standards for prosecution.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Addressing Global Proliferation of Atrocities<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The rise of conflicts and state-sponsored atrocities in regions like Ethiopia, Myanmar, Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan highlights the urgent need for a binding international instrument to combat impunity and protect civilians.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Universal Accountability<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>By criminalizing such acts globally, a treaty would eliminate safe havens for perpetrators, ensuring that no region or individual is beyond the reach of justice.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>Step towards a Crimes Against Humanity Treaty<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>About the news<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>A key United Nations (U.N.) General Assembly committee adopted a resolution paving way for negotiations on a first-ever treaty on preventing and punishing crimes against humanity.<\/li>\n<li>Sponsors of the resolution, led by <strong>Mexico and Gambia<\/strong> with the backing of 96 countries, emphasized the need to close legal gap in dealing with such crimes.\n<ul>\n<li>Existing treaties cover war crimes, genocide, and torture, but no treaty specifically addresses crimes against humanity, such as murder, rape, sexual slavery, torture, and enforced disappearances.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Timeline for Treaty Negotiations<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The resolution outlines a structured timeline, with preparatory sessions in 2026 and 2027 and formal negotiating sessions in 2028 and 2029.<\/li>\n<li>While some expressed disappointment at the extended timeline, the move is hailed as a significant step toward addressing impunity for grave human rights violations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Q.1. Why is a separate treaty needed for crimes against humanity?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>There is no existing treaty specifically addressing crimes against humanity, leaving a legal gap. A dedicated treaty would ensure global accountability for atrocities like murder, torture, and sexual slavery, providing a mechanism for prosecution even in countries outside ICC jurisdiction.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Q.2. What is the timeline for the negotiations of the Crimes Against Humanity Treaty?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Negotiations for the treaty will begin with preparatory sessions in 2026 and 2027, followed by formal negotiations in 2028 and 2029. This timeline, while extended, is a crucial step toward addressing impunity for serious human rights violations globally.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/thehindu.com\/news\/international\/crimes-against-humanity-key-un-committee-adopts-resolution-paving-way-for-first-ever-treaty\/article68901276.ece#:~:text=A%20key%20United%20Nations%20(U.N.,would%20have%20derailed%20the%20effort.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>Crimes against humanity: Key U.N. committee adopts resolution paving way for first-ever treaty<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The UN General Assembly&#8217;s legal committee approved a resolution for the first-ever treaty to prevent and punish crimes against humanity. This step addresses existing legal gaps and aims to ensure global accountability for atrocities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":43656,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-43655","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43655"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43655\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}