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

the Geneva conventions, constitutes a war crime. 298 It is the duty of all parties to
repress grave breaches and take the necessary steps to suppress all other breaches of
the Geneva Conventions that result from a failure to act when under a duty to
protect. 299 Mutual assistance is covered under Article 88 (1) whereby each party is
under a duty to give the greatest measure of assistance in connection with criminal
proceedings brought in respect of grave war crimes. They must cooperate in matters
of extradition and they must give consideration to any state requests. All parties are to
work together, jointly or individually in co-operation with the United Nations and in
conformity with the Charter. 300 Each state is responsible for the actions of their armed
forces in relation to breaches or violations of these Conventions. 301
The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (2002) also provides a section on War
Crimes. It is extensive and covers all of the grave breaches that are outlined in the
Geneva Conventions. 302
CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY
Crimes against humanity do not have any particular Convention in place to provide
definitions. This is because a crime against humanity does not in fact constitute legal
bearing in international law on its own. A crime against humanity is a part of war
crimes and it is not distinct from them. However, the Rome Statute (2002) does
provide a useful range of descriptions. It includes almost every crime cited under the
Geneva Conventions for war crimes as well as descriptions under genocide and ethnic
cleansing as already mentioned. These include murder, extermination, enslavement,
deportation or forcible transfer, severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of
fundamental rules of international law, torture, rape, sexual slavery, enforced
prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization or any other form of sexual
violence. It also includes persecution against any identifiable group, racial, national,
298 Article 85 (5) page 34
299 Article 86 page 34
300 Article 89 page 35
301 Article 91 page 37
302 See United Nations. (2002). The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. United
Nations pages 1 to 65, the definitions on war crimes can be found on pages 1 to 7
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