At Religious Freedom Summit, Ambassador Calls for Crimes Against Humanity Statute

The International Religious Freedom Summit was held on Tuesday and Wednesday in Washington, D.C. Among the numerous speakers and panelists was Beth Van Schaack, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice. In her remarks (full text), she said in part:

Today, several million Muslims are the victims of two contemporary genocides. One such genocide is being committed by authorities of the People’s Republic of China against predominantly Muslim Uyghurs, ethnic Kazakhs, ethnic Kyrgyz, and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang. The other is being committed by members of the Burmese military against predominantly Muslim Rohingya. The Secretary of State has made a public genocide determination in both cases....

Although victim and survivor groups tend to gravitate toward the genocide label, ... [w]e do a great disservice to victims when crimes against humanity are omitted from our condemnation....

Crimes against humanity encompass a range of acts made criminal under international law when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population.  Prohibited acts include murder, torture, sexual violence, and persecution....

This is a crime that can be prosecuted before many national and international tribunals, including the International Criminal Court. The international community is in the process of drafting a crimes against humanity statute—an effort in which my office is actively involved. Unfortunately, however, the United States does not have a crimes against humanity statute, so this is not a crime that we can prosecute domestically. Senator Durbin has worked for years on getting such a statute enacted and we are hopeful that he can build the congressional consensus he needs around this effort this congressional term.

State Department Gets Broader Authority to Pay Rewards in War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide Cases

Yesterday President Biden signed into law H.R.4250 (full text) which expands the Department of State War Crimes Rewards Program that allows the State Department to pay rewards to persons who furnish information leading to the arrest or conviction in any country, or by an international criminal tribunal, of any foreign national accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide. Previously 22 USC §2708(b)(10) had a seemingly artificial limitation on when a reward could be paid.  It was authorized only when the defendant was convicted of these crimes as defined by the statute setting up the international criminal tribunal involved.  The new law expands this to allow rewards when the defendant is convicted in another country or by an international tribunal of war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide as defined by "(A) the statute of such country or tribunal, as the case may be; or (B) United States law".

U.S. Labels Burmese Military's Treatment Of Rohingya As Genocide

In a speech (full text) yesterday at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced that the United States has concluded that Burma's actions against the Rohingya constitute genocide.  He said in part:

One of my responsibilities as Secretary is determining, on behalf of the United States, whether atrocities have been committed.  It’s an immense responsibility that I take very seriously, particularly given my family’s history.

Beyond the Holocaust, the United States has concluded that genocide was committed seven times.  Today marks the eighth, as I have determined that members of the Burmese military committed genocide and crimes against humanity against Rohingya.

People's Tribunal In Britain Finds China Guilty Of Genocide Against Uyghurs

The Uyghur Tribunal, an independent People's Tribunal set up last year in Britain to investigate China’s actions against Uyghur, Kazakh and other Turkic Muslim populations, yesterday issued a 63-page Summary Judgment (full text). It concluded:

180. Torture of Uyghurs attributable to the PRC is established beyond reasonable doubt.

181. Crimes against humanity attributable to the PRC is established beyond reasonable doubt by acts of: deportation or forcible transfer; imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty; torture; rape and other sexual violence; enforced sterilisation; persecution; enforced disappearance; and other inhumane acts.

It then went on to find China guilty of genocide through its imposed birth control and sterilization policies designed to reduce the Uyghur population. Article II(d) of the Genocide Convention includes in the definition of Genocide: " Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group." The Tribunal said in part:

190. Accordingly, on the basis of evidence heard in public, the Tribunal is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the PRC, by the imposition of measures to prevent births intended to destroy a significant part of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang as such, has committed genocide.

191. This Judgment, with no evidence of any mass killing, may be thought to diminish the perceived status of genocide as a crime. In one way it may do that, and if so, in one way, not necessarily a bad thing. The use of superlatives ... when attached to tragedy brings public attention, sometimes at a cost to other tragedies able to attract less attention despite being as serious.

The Tribunal however expressed some unease over its genocide finding, saying in part:

183. The Tribunal recognises that this may be the first public evidence-based determination of a genocide under Article II(d) of the Convention (or of crimes under statutes in similar terms).

184. The Tribunal would, as a whole, prefer not to make such a finding and to allow findings of genocide in law to match more closely the likely general public understanding of the word.

185. The Tribunal recognises that a finding of genocide based on control of childbirth may even seem to some close to lawful management by governments of societies elsewhere; in the back of some minds might be awkward and uncomfortable considerations of worldwide unsustainable population growth.

White House Announces Diplomatic Boycott Of Olympics To Protest Uyghur Genocide

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki announced on Monday a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics to protest genocide being committed against the Uyghurs and other religious minorities in Xinjiang province:

The Biden administration will not send any diplomatic or official representation to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games given the PRC’s ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and other human rights abuses. 

The athletes on Team USA have our full support.  We will be behind them 100 percent as we cheer them on from home.  We will not be contributing to the fanfare of the Games. 

U.S. diplomatic or official representation would treat these Games as business as usual in the face of the PRC’s egregious human rights abuses and atrocities in Xinjiang. And we simply can’t do that. 

As the President has told President Xi, standing up for human rights is in the DNA of Americans.  We have a fundamental commitment to promoting human rights.  And we feel strongly in our position, and we will continue to take actions to advance human rights in China and beyond.

Secretary of State Pompeo Declares Chinese Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide Against Uyghurs

Yesterday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the State Department has concluded that since March 2017 China has committed crimes against humanity against the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other members of ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang. These crimes remain ongoing.  The State Department has also concluded that China has-- and continues to-- commit genocide against the Muslim Uyghurs and other minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Western China. 

International Criminal Court Authorizes Investigation Into Persecution of Rohingya By Myanmar

Yesterday, in a 58-page decision (full text), a 3-judge Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court sitting at The Hague authorized an investigation into alleged crimes against humanity committed against the Rohingya Muslims by Myanmar. The Court's press release summarizes the decision:

The Chamber concluded that the Court may exercise jurisdiction over crimes when part of the criminal conduct takes place on the territory of a State Party. While Myanmar is not a State Party, Bangladesh ratified the ICC Rome statute in 2010. Upon review of the available information, the Chamber accepted that there exists a reasonable basis to believe widespread and/or systematic acts of violence may have been committed that could qualify as the crimes against humanity of deportation across the Myanmar-Bangladesh border and persecution on grounds of ethnicity and/or religion against the Rohingya population..... 

Noting the scale of the alleged crimes and the number of victims allegedly involved, the Chamber considered that the situation clearly reaches the gravity threshold. According to the supporting material, an estimated 600,000 to one million Rohingya were forcibly displaced from Myanmar to neighbouring Bangladesh as a result of the alleged coercive acts. Noting the victims' views, the Chamber agreed with the Prosecutor that there are no substantial reasons to believe that an investigation into the situation would not be in the interests of justice.