Where is R2P grounded in international law? Anne-Marie Judson A ...

WHICH INTERNATIONAL LAWS, (CONVENTIONS, TREATIES OR
STATUTES) BEST EXPLAIN AND DEFINE CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY,
WAR CRIMES, ETHNIC CLEANSING AND GENOCIDE?
Although the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (2002) is not yet considered
customary it does define and add to the debates on definitions of grave crimes against
humanity. In this light it will be analyzed for its descriptive use. The jurisdiction of the
International Criminal Court is limited to the most serious crimes of concern to the
international community as a whole. 198 The Court has jurisdiction in accordance with
the Statute and in respect only to the following crimes; the crime of genocide, crimes
against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression. Article 7 describes crimes
against humanity as acts committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack
against any civilian population. This includes murder, extermination, 199
enslavement, 200 deportation or forcible transfer 201 of population, imprisonment or
other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of
international law, as well as torture, 202 rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution,
forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization or any other form of sexual violation of
comparable gravity. It also includes persecution against any identifiable group
collectively on political, racial, national, ethnic, cultural, and religious, gender or other
grounds that are universally recognized as impermissible under international law. The
crime of apartheid is included as well as any other inhumane act of a similar character
intentionally causing great suffering or serious injury to body, mental or physical
health. The statute is broad and covers all areas of R2P descriptions. The next section
covers the crimes individually.
198 The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (2002) Article 5, page 2
199 Article 7(2) b, of the Rome Statute (2002) it describes extermination as the internal infliction
of conditions of life, inter alia the deprivation of access to food or medicine, calculated to bring
about the destruction of part or the whole of a population.
200 Article 7 (2) c, describes enslavement as the exercise of all or any of the powers attaching to
the right of ownership over a person or persons and includes the exercise of such power in the
course of trafficking in persons in particular women and children.
201 Article 7 (2) d, describes deportation or forcible transfer of the population as displacement of
persons concerned by expulsion or other coercive acts from an area in which they were lawfully
present, without grounds permitted under international law.
202 Article 7 (2) e, describes torture as the intentional infliction of severe pain or suffering
whether physical or mental upon a person in the custody of or under the control of the accused,
except where that torture includes pain or suffering arising from inherent or an accident to
lawful sanctions
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