Perpetuity of Heinous Crimes
A resolution to blah blah blah
Category: Political Stability | Strength: Mild
The World Assembly,
Noting that international law has given states certain obligations with respect to "crimes against humanity" or "war crimes" without necessarily defining what such crimes actually are,
Believing it would be useful to maintain a list clearly outlining the general scope of such crimes, while leaving the specific definition of each to individual dedicated resolutions,
Further understanding that states have historically employed "statutory limitations", whereby a prosecution can no longer be brought for certain crimes after a period of time has elapsed, so as to secure their justice systems against frivolous or unfair trials,
Asserting that crimes of such a heinous nature as to be considered crimes against humanity or war crimes deserve no such limitation given the imperative of securing justice for their victims and punishment for those responsible,
Has determined:
- The World Assembly shall recognise the following as heinous crimes:
crimes against humanity, perpetrated against a people with the aim of extermination, dispossession, collective punishment, denial of fundamental rights and freedoms, or elimination of their culture:
war crimes, perpetrated during an internal or international armed conflict:
- murder, deprivation of basic necessities, or deliberate starvation,
- suppression, destruction or denial of intrinsic culture,
- slavery, forced labour, or human trafficking,
- forced sterilisation, forced abortion, organ trafficking, or other forced or illegitimate medical procedures,
- torture,
- rape, forced pregnancy, forced prostitution, or other forms of sexual violence,
- forced deportation, expulsion, or resettlement,
- forced disappearance or child theft,
- any other crime recognised as an act of genocide by international law,
- institutionalised segregation or stratification of rights based on any general characteristic such as race or religion,
- state-sponsored terrorism,
- any other crime recognised as a crime against humanity by international law,
- deliberate targeting of civilians,
- use of biological, chemical, nuclear or radiological weaponry in violation of international law,
- mistreatment of prisoners of war, military internees, or civilian internees,
- reprisals against civilian population as a means of collective punishment,
- deliberate targeting of surrendered parties or parties injured or incapacitated beyond the means of defending themselves,
- pillage or looting,
- excessive destruction not justified by military necessity,
- summary execution,
- deliberate targeting of humanitarian cargo or medical personnel, where identified by a recognised humanitarian emblem,
- perfidy,
- unrestricted submarine warfare,
- violation of neutrality,
- wartime sexual violence,
- taking of hostages,
- use of civilians or other protected persons to render areas immune from military operations,
- any other crime recognised as a war crime by international law;
- No state shall recognise any statute of limitation on the commission, attempted commission, conspiracy to commit or assistance towards commission of any such heinous crime.
- Nothing in this resolution shall be interpreted as limiting further international law clarifying or defining the scope of national obligations with respect to heinous crimes.
"The idea behind this proposal is more straightforward than its unbelievably pretentious title might suggest: to pass a resolution officially listing everything the WA does or should consider to be a "war crime" or "crime against humanity", such that Universal Jurisdiction can then be invoked, while at the same time avoiding any legal problems coming from the rules of procedure against explicitly "building on" previously passed legislation.
"Therefore, the idea is to name all the war crimes and crimes against humanity, but not to go into the specifics of each: those are left to the dedicated resolutions on each, such as Prevention of Torture or Ban on Slavery and Trafficking."
~ Daisy Chinmusic
Legislative Intern