This document discusses crimes against humanity under international law. It defines crimes against humanity as specific crimes committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against civilians, regardless of nationality. The Rome Statute lists murder, torture, rape and other inhumane acts as crimes against humanity. Perpetrators of such crimes in locations like Bangladesh, Syria and Palestine in recent decades have caused millions of deaths and displaced persons. The ongoing persecution of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, involving killings, rape and destruction of homes, likely constitutes crimes against humanity as well. Landmark trials in Bangladesh have sought to prosecute suspects for crimes against humanity during its war of liberation in 1971.

1. Prepared By:
Md. Ehsan Khan
LL.B.(Hon’s)
E-Mail: md.ehsankhan36@gmail.com
Crimes against Humanity

2.  Introduction
Crimes against humanity refer to specific crimes
committed in the context of a large-scale attack targeting
civilians, regardless of their nationality. Crimes against
humanity appeared for the first time at the end of the
Second World War in 1945 before the International Military
Tribunal (IMT) at Nuremberg. Since the 1990s, crimes
against humanity have been codified in different
international treaties such as, the Statute of the
International Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia (1993), the Statute of the International Tribunal
for Rwanda (1994) and the Rome Statute of the
International Criminal Court (1998).

3. Crimes against Humanity
 Murder;
 Extermination;
 Enslavement;
 Deportation or forcible transfer of
population;
 Imprisonment or other severe deprivation
of physical liberty in violation of
fundamental rules of international law;
According to article 7 of the Rome Statute of
the International Criminal Court, ‘crime against
humanity’ include any of the following acts
when committed as part of a widespread or
systematic attack directed against any civilian
population, with knowledge of the attack:

4.  Torture;
 Rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution,
forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization, or
any other form of sexual violence of
comparable gravity;
 Persecution against any identifiable group
or collectivity on political, racial, national,
ethnic, cultural, religious or gender
grounds;
 Enforced disappearance of persons;
 The crime of apartheid;
 Other inhumane acts of a similar character
intentionally causing great suffering, or
serious injury to body or to mental or
physical health.
Crimes against Humanity

5.  Penalty for Crimes against Humanity
The applicable penalty for the person
convicted of crimes against humanity is-
• Imprisonment for a specified number
of years, which may not exceed a
maximum of 30 years, or
• A term of life imprisonment when
justified by the extreme gravity of the
crime and the individual
circumstances of the convicted
person.

6.  Crimes against Humanity since World War II
Bangladesh:
The worst crime against humanity committed by the Pakistan Army and their local
collaborators, Razakars, Al-Badr and Al-Shams during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. 3
million peoples were brutally killed and raped between 200,000 Bangladeshi women.
Syria:
War crimes in Syria's five-year-old conflict are widespread and Syrian government
forces(President, Bashar-Al-Assad) and Islamic State militants continue to commit crimes
against humanity. Over 400,000 people have lost their lives in five years of civil war in Syria.
4.8 million refugees have fled to Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Iraqi Kurdistan while
6.6 million remain internally displaced within the country.
Palestine:
Israel systematically targeted Palestinian residential buildings and infrastructure without any
apparent military justification. It is imperative not to be numbed by the death toll numbers
reported every day from Gaza. From the beginning of the conflict near about 8,441
Palestinians were killed. Even if the person were a "legitimate military target," Israel's
method of attacking homes is disproportionate, indiscriminate and illegal.

7. Time Location PerpetratorsVictims
Number of
victims
1949 to
1987
China Communists
Chinese
public
40 million
1975 to
1979
Cambodia
Khmer
Rouge
Public
1.7 to 2
million
1975 to
1999
East Timor Muslims
Roman
Catholics
200,000
1985 Sudan
Mainly
Muslim
militia and
government
Initially,
mostly
Animists &
Christians;
now mainly
Muslims
About
200,000
deaths;
millions
dislocated
1994 Rwanda Mainly Hutus
Mainly
Tutsis; some
moderate
Hutus
about
800,000
 Crimes against Humanity since World War II

8.  Killing and inhuman torture of Rohingya Muslim in Mayanmar
Rohingya Muslims, an ethnic and religious
minority population in Burma (Myanmar), are
one of the most persecuted groups in the world
and are currently facing extreme violence at
the hands of the Burmese military.
In northern Rakhine State, on October 9, 2016,
militants attacked three police outposts, armed
with mostly sticks and knives, killing nine
police. This triggered retaliatory attacks by the
Burmese military that have included killing of
civilians, including children and babies, mass
rape, and a scorched-earth practice that has
destroyed over 1,400 homes, mosques, and
other Rohingya-owned structures.

9. In light of this violence, 66,000
people have fled across the border to
Bangladesh.
Rohingya activists and the
international community have argued
that these most recent atrocities are
part of a long-standing campaign
against the Rohingya that has been
called “crimes against humanity,”
“ethnic cleansing,”.
 Killing and inhuman torture of Rohingya Muslim in Mayanmar
Mohammed Shohayet’s body washed up on a river
bank. Credit: CNN
“Rohingya Muslims are the
victims of Crimes against
Humanity”.

10. Land mark trial of Crime against
Humanity in the history of Bangladesh
The International Crimes Tribunal
(Bangladesh) (ICT of Bangladesh) is a
domestic war crimes tribunal in Bangladesh
set up on 25 March 2010 to investigate and
prosecute suspects for persons responsible
for committing genocide, crimes against
humanity, war crimes and other crimes
under international law during our War of
Liberation in 1971. The trials are being
held maintaining the highest standard of
judicial practices. Successful trial would
heal the wounds of war and move
Bangladesh on to the road of peace and
progress.

11. Conclusion
Crimes against humanity are the most notorious crimes.
But governments around the world often deny that
crimes against humanity have occurred on their
territory, thus ignoring the suffering of their people.
Thousands of desperate victims are still struggling to
get long-waited justice, reparation and recognition.
Thank You