Topic: Universal Jurisdiction in Crimes against Humanity
Country: Germany
Delegate Name: Claire Fishman
School: Ann Arbor Community High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Germany position papers GLIMUN 2011 committees
In Article 1 of the German Basic Law, it is stated that, “Human dignity shall be inviolable. To respect and protect it shall be the duty of all state authority.” We believe that we have a responsibility to protect all human rights, whether those of German citizens or others. It is important to prosecute those who commit human rights violations, especially crimes against humanity, to ensure that rule of law is maintained and justice achieved, and so a message is sent to those who violate human dignity, showing that what they are doing will not be tolerated by the international community.
Throughout the years, the international community, including the United Nations itself, has established many forms and exercises in universal jurisdiction. However, crimes against humanity still persist, a fact illuminated by events in places like the former Yugoslavia and the Congo Basin. Universal jurisdiction needs to be strengthened to prevent crimes against humanity. We believe in doing this by utilizing the concept of subsidiary universal jurisdiction.
One exercise in subsidiary universal jurisdiction is the International Criminal Court, or the ICC, which was created by the Rome Statute, and is a valuable tool in prosecuting crimes against humanity. We are party to the statute, and currently, are court’s largest contributor along with Japan, and are the largest contributor of voluntary payments to the court’s Trust Fund for Victims and Witness Protection Programme.
Internally, this concept can also be put into practice by supporting individual countries’ enactments of international criminal codes that work in harmony with such international standards such as the Rome Statute. We have done this with the Völkerstrafgesetzbuch, or VStGB, which makes crimes against humanity, along with genocide and war crimes, subject to universal jurisdiction within the German court system.
The expansion of these existing measures, with a strengthening of the ICC, an issue currently before the Security Council, and encouragement to countries to enact their own international criminal codes, will follow the concept of subsidiary universal jurisdiction, and will help to stop crimes against humanity. We invite others in the international community to work with us to make the world safer for all.
