A House with Two Rooms - The Advocates for Human Rights

Potential Implementation Strategy: Prosecution Options under
U.S. Law and Universal Jurisdiction
U.S. Prosecution Options
The following statutes allow prosecutions of foreign nationals for crimes committed abroad, although
the individual must be in the U.S. for jurisdiction to apply.
- Genocide Accountability Act of 2007: Applies to alleged perpetrators who are present in the United
States and provides for penalties including life in prison for acts of genocide committed outside the
United States.
- Child Soldiers Accountability Act of 2008: The Act provides for up to 20 years in prison for any
person who knowingly “recruits, enlists, or conscripts” a person under 15 years of age to the armed
forces or compels such a child to engage in active hostilities. The act is intended to only affect adult
perpetrators.
- War Crimes Act of 1996 (18 USC § 2441): This statute applies if the victim or the perpetrator is a U.S.
citizent or member of the U.S. armed forces and provides for sentences including life imprisonment for
grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions.
- Extraterritorial Torture Statute (18 USC § 2340A): The statute provides for sentences including life
imprisonment for any person who commits torture abroad. Chuckie Taylor, former ATU leader, was
recently convicted and sentenced in U.S. District Court to 97 years under this statute280 European Prosecution Options
- Universal Jurisdiction: Investigation and prosecution of foreign nationals who were accused of
committing serious crimes under international law have been undertaken in Belgium, France, the U.K.,
Spain, Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands. While actions in many of these countries could initially
be commenced upon a complaint by a private individual, some laws – in Belgium, for example – have
been amended to limit these types of privately initiated actions. Although changes such as these
prevent victims from directly initiating a prosecution, they do not prevent victims from interacting with
prosecuting authorities and advocating for an investigation and prosecution. Moreover, a coordinated
strategy on the part of the Liberian government or Liberian civil society actors to work with authorities
in Europe to initiate prosecutions of individuals believed to have committed genocide, crimes against
humanity, and war crimes could be effective in ending impunity and reducing the burden on a special
war crimes court. In most countries, a foreign national must actually be present or the individual’s
presence must be anticipated in order to initiate an investigation.
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