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GENOCIDE of the Ethnic Germans in Yugoslavia 1944-1948 Convention on the Prevention
and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, 78
U.N.T.S. 277, entered into force Jan. 12,
1951. The Contracting
Parties, Having considered the
declaration made by the General Assembly of the
United Nations in its resolution 96 (I) dated 11
December 1946 that genocide is a crime under
international law, contrary to the spirit and aims
of the United Nations and condemned by the
civilized world, Recognizing that at all
periods of history genocide has inflicted great
losses on humanity, and Being convinced that, in
order to liberate mankind from such an odious
scourge, international co-operation is
required, Hereby agree as hereinafter
provided: Article I The Contracting Parties
confirm that genocide, whether committed in time of
peace or in time of war, is a crime under
international law which they undertake to prevent
and to punish. Article II In the present Convention,
genocide means any of the following acts committed
with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a
national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as
such: Article III The following acts shall be
punishable: Article IV Persons committing genocide
or any of the other acts enumerated in article III
shall be punished, whether they are
constitutionally responsible rulers, public
officials or private individuals. Article V The Contracting Parties
undertake to enact, in accordance with their
respective Constitutions, the necessary legislation
to give effect to the provisions of the present
Convention, and, in particular, to provide
effective penalties for persons guilty of genocide
or any of the other acts enumerated in article
III. Article VI Persons charged with genocide
or any of the other acts enumerated in article III
shall be tried by a competent tribunal of the State
in the territory of which the act was committed, or
by such international penal tribunal as may have
jurisdiction with respect to those Contracting
Parties which shall have accepted its
jurisdiction. Article VII Genocide and the other acts
enumerated in article III shall not be considered
as political crimes for the purpose of
extradition. Article
VIII Any Contracting Party may
call upon the competent organs of the United
Nations to take such action under the Charter of
the United Nations as they consider appropriate for
the prevention and suppression of acts of genocide
or any of the other acts enumerated in article
III. Article IX Disputes between the
Contracting Parties relating to the interpretation,
application or fulfilment of the present
Convention, including those relating to the
responsibility of a State for genocide or for any
of the other acts enumerated in article III, shall
be submitted to the International Court of Justice
at the request of any of the parties to the
dispute. Article X The present Convention, of
which the Chinese, English, French, Russian and
Spanish texts are equally authentic, shall bear the
date of 9 December 1948. Article XI The present Convention shall
be open until 31 December 1949 for signature on
behalf of any Member of the United Nations and of
any non-member State to which an invitation to sign
has been addressed by the General Assembly. Article XII Any Contracting Party may at
any time, by notification addressed to the
Secretary-General of the United Nations, extend the
application of the present Convention to all or any
of the territories for the conduct of whose foreign
relations that Contracting Party is
responsible. Article
XIII On the day when the first
twenty instruments of ratification or accession
have been deposited, the Secretary-General shall
draw up a proces-verbal and transmit a copy thereof
to each Member of the United Nations and to each of
the non-member States contemplated in article
XI. Article XIV The present Convention shall
remain in effect for a period of ten years as from
the date of its coming into force. Article XV If, as a result of
denunciations, the number of Parties to the present
Convention should become less than sixteen, the
Convention shall cease to be in force as from the
date on which the last of these denunciations shall
become effective. Article XVI A request for the revision of
the present Convention may be made at any time by
any Contracting Party by means of a notification in
writing addressed to the Secretary-General. Article
XVII The Secretary-General of the
United Nations shall notify all Members of the
United Nations and the non-member States
contemplated in article XI of the
following: Article
XVIII The original of the present
Convention shall be deposited in the archives of
the United Nations. Article XIX The present Convention shall
be registered by the Secretary-General of the
United Nations on the date of its coming into
force. Convention on
the Non-Applicability of Statutory G.A. res. 2391 (XXIII),
annex, 23 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 18) at 40, U.N. Doc.
A/7218 (1968), entered into force Nov. 11,
1970. PREAMBLE The States Parties to the
present Convention, Recalling resolutions of the
Economic and Social Council of the United Nations
1074 D (XXXIX) of 28 July 1965 and 1158 (XLI) of 5
August 1966 on the punishment of war criminals and
of persons who have committed crimes against
humanity, Noting that none of the
solemn declarations, instruments or conventions
relating to the prosecution and punishment of war
crimes and crimes against humanity made provision
for a period of limitation, Considering that war crimes
and crimes against humanity are among the gravest
crimes in international law, Convinced that the effective
punishment of war crimes and crimes against
humanity is an important element in the prevention
of such crimes, the protection of human rights and
fundamental freedoms, the encouragement of
confidence, the furtherance of co-operation among
peoples and the promotion of international peace
and security, Noting that the application
to war crimes and crimes against humanity of the
rules of municipal law relating to the period of
limitation for ordinary crimes is a matter of
serious concern to world public opinion, since it
prevents the prosecution and punishment of persons
responsible for those crimes, Recognizing that it is
necessary and timely to affirm in international
law, through this Convention, the principle that
there is no period of limitation for war crimes and
crimes against humanity, and to secure its
universal application, Have agreed as
follows: Article I No statutory limitation shall
apply to the following crimes, irrespective of the
date of their commission: (b) Crimes against
humanity whether committed in time of war or in
time of peace as they are defined in the Charter
of the International Military Tribunal,
Nurnberg, of 8 August 1945 and confirmed by
resolutions 3 (I) of 13 February 1946 and 95 (I)
of 11 December 1946 of the General Assembly of
the United Nations, eviction by armed attack or
occupation and inhuman acts resulting from the
policy of apartheid, and the crime of genocide
as defined in the 1948 Convention on the
Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of
Genocide, even if such acts do not constitute a
violation of the domestic law of the country in
which they were committed. Article II If any of the crimes
mentioned in article I is committed, the provisions
of this Convention shall apply to representatives
of the State authority and private individuals who,
as principals or accomplices, participate in or who
directly incite others to the commission of any of
those crimes, or who conspire to commit them,
irrespective of the degree of completion, and to
representatives of the State authority who tolerate
their commission. Article III The States Parties to the
present Convention undertake to adopt all necessary
domestic measures, legislative or otherwise, with a
view to making possible the extradition, in
accordance with international law, of the persons
referred to in article II of this
Convention. Article IV The States Parties to the
present Convention undertake to adopt, in
accordance with their respective constitutional
processes, any legislative or other measures
necessary to ensure that statutory or other
limitations shall not apply to the prosecution and
punishment of the crimes referred to in articles I
and II of this Convention and that, where they
exist, such limitations shall be
abolished. Article V This Convention shall, until
31 December 1969, be open for signature by any
State Member of the United Nations or member of any
of its specialized agencies or of the International
Atomic Energy Agency, by any State Party to the
Statute of the International Court of Justice, and
by any other State which has been invited by the
General Assembly of the United Nations to become a
Party to this Convention. Article VI This Convention is subject to
ratification. Instruments of ratification shall be
deposited with the Secretary-General of the United
Nations. Article VII This Convention shall be open
to accession by any State referred to in article 5.
Instruments of accession shall be deposited with
the Secretary- General of the United
Nations. Article
VIII 1. This Convention shall
enter into force on the ninetieth day after the
date of the deposit with the Secretary-General of
the United Nations of the tenth instrument of
ratification or accession. 2. For each State ratifying
this Convention or acceding to it after the deposit
of the tenth instrument of ratification or
accession, the Convention shall enter into force on
the ninetieth day after the date of the deposit of
its own instrument of ratification or
accession. Article IX 1. After the expiry of a
period of ten years from the date on which this
Convention enters into force, a request for the
revision of the Convention may be made at any time
by any Contracting Party by means of a notification
in writing addressed to the Secretary-General of
the United Nations. 2. The General Assembly of
the United Nations shall decide upon the steps, if
any, to be taken in respect of such a
request. Article X 1. This Convention shall be
deposited with the Secretary-General of the United
Nations. Article XI This Convention, of which the
Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish texts
are equally authentic, shall bear the date of 26
November 1968. IN WITNESS WHEREOF the
undersigned, being duly authorized for that
purpose, have signed this Convention. 1. War crimes and crimes
against humanity, wherever they are committed,
shall be subject to investigation and the persons
against whom there is evidence that they have
committed such crimes shall be subject to tracing,
arrest, trial and, if found guilty, to punishment.
2. Every State has the right
to try its own nationals for war crimes against
humanity. 3. States shall co-operate
with each other on a bilateral and multilateral
basis with a view to halting and preventing war
crimes and crimes against humanity, and shall take
the domestic and international measures necessary
for that purpose. 4. States shall assist each
other in detecting, arresting and bringing to trial
persons suspected of having committed such crimes
and, if they are found guilty, in punishing them.
5. Persons against whom there
is evidence that they have committed war crime and
crimes against humanity shall be subject to trial
and, if found guilty, to punishment, as a general
rule in the countries in which they committed those
crimes. In that connection, States shall co-operate
on questions of extraditing such persons.
6. States shall co-operate
with each other in the collection of information
and evidence which would help to bring to trial the
persons indicated in paragraph 5 above and shall
exchange such information. 7. In accordance with artic1e
I of the Dec1aration on Territorial Asylum of 14
December 1967, States shall not grant asylum to any
person with respect to whom there are serious
reasons for considering that he has committed a
crime against peace, a war crime or a crime against
humanity. 8. States shall not take any
legislative or other measures which may be
prejudicial to the international obligations they
have assumed in regard to the detection, arrest,
extradition and punishment of persons guilty of war
crimes and crimes against humanity. 9. In co-operating with a
view to the detection, arrest and extradition of
persons against whom there is evidence that they
have committed war crimes and crimes against
humanity and, if found guilty, their punishment,
States shall act in conformity with the provisions
of the Charter of the United Nations and of the
Declaration on Principles of International Law
concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation
among States in accordance with the Charter of the
United Nations. |