Sixth Committee (Legal) — 80th session
Crimes against humanity (Provisional agenda item 83)
- Authority: resolution 79/122
- List of speakers (will be made available upon the closing of the list of speakers)
Documentation
Additional documents from previous sessions:
- A/79/470 — Report of the Sixth Committee (79th session)
- A/C.6/78/2 – Written summary of the deliberations during the two resumed sessions
- Oral report of the co-facilitators (2024 resumed session)
- A/78/717 + Corr.1 + Add.1 — Report of the Secretary-General
- Oral report of the co-facilitators (2023 resumed session)
- Draft articles on prevention and punishment of crimes against humanity with commentaries, 2019
- Draft articles on prevention and punishment of crimes against humanity, arranged by thematic clusters, to be considered at the resumed seventy-seventh and seventy-eighth sessions
- A/CN.4/713 — Topical summary of the discussion held in the Sixth Committee of the General Assembly during its seventy-second session, prepared by the Secretariat
- A/CN.4/726 + Add.1 + Add.2 — Comments and observations received from Governments, international organizations and others, 2019
- A/CN.4/734 — Topical summary of the discussion held in the Sixth Committee of the General Assembly during its seventy-fourth session, prepared by the Secretariat
- Full text of the comments and observations received from Governments in 2015, 2016 and 2017
- Full text of the comments and observations received from Governments, international organizations and others, 2019
Summary of work
Background (source: A/80/100)
At its seventy-fourth session, the General Assembly, under the item entitled “Report of the International Law Commission on the work of its seventy-first session”, took note of the draft articles on prevention and punishment of crimes against humanity contained in chapter IV of the report of the Commission (A/74/10), and decided to include in the provisional agenda of its seventy-fifth session an item entitled “Crimes against humanity” and to continue to examine the recommendation of the Commission contained in paragraph 42 of its report on the work of its seventy-first session (resolution 74/187).
At its seventy-ninth session, the Assembly decided to convene a preparatory committee for the United Nations Conference of Plenipotentiaries on Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Humanity, to meet for two consecutive weeks, from 19 to 30 January 2026, and for four days, in 2027, at United Nations Headquarters in New York. The Assembly also decided to convene the Conference, to meet at United Nations Headquarters in New York for three consecutive weeks in 2028 and in 2029, unless otherwise agreed by the Preparatory Committee, to elaborate and conclude a legally binding instrument on prevention and punishment of crimes against humanity (resolution 79/122).
At the same session, the Assembly decided to convene a working group to meet for the entire first session of the Preparatory Committee to facilitate consultations on the draft articles, and to enable Governments to prepare formal proposals for amendments to the draft articles for consideration by the Conference to be included in the compiled text (resolution 79/122).
Also at the same session, the Assembly decided that the Preparatory Committee should also discuss the organization and methods of work of the Conference, including the rules of procedure, with a view to making recommendations thereon, at its second session, to the Conference. The Assembly requested the Secretary-General to prepare proposals thereon for the consideration of the Preparatory Committee and decided that the Preparatory Committee should also prepare the compiled text for submission to the Conference and decide, at its first session, on the participation of stakeholders other than those non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council in accordance with Council resolution 1996/31. The Assembly decided that, upon completion of its mandate, the Preparatory Committee should report directly to the Conference (resolution 79/122).
Also at its seventy-ninth session, the Assembly invited Governments to submit to the Secretary-General, no later than 30 April 2026, proposals for amendments to the draft articles for inclusion in the compiled text, and requested the Secretary-General to submit a proposed compiled text to the Preparatory Committee at its second session (resolution 79/122).
At the same session, the Assembly decided that the Conference and the Preparatory Committee should be open to all States Members of the United Nations and members of the specialized agencies, and requested the Secretary-General to invite those States to participate in the Conference (resolution 79/122).
Also at the same session the Assembly decided that the Conference and the Preparatory Committee should be open to observers having received a standing invitation to participate in the sessions and the work of the General Assembly, on the understanding that they should participate in the Conference in accordance with the rights and privileges conferred upon them by the Assembly, and requested the Secretary-General to invite them to the Conference, and also to invite, as observers to the Conference, representatives of interested regional intergovernmental organizations and other interested international bodies (resolution 79/122).
Also at the seventy-ninth session, the Assembly decided that attendance at the Conference and the Preparatory Committee as observers would also be opened to relevant non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council in accordance with Council resolution 1996/31 (resolution 79/122).
The participation of relevant non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders meant attending formal meetings, receiving copies of the official documents, making their materials available to delegates and addressing the meetings, through a limited number of their representatives, as appropriate (resolution 79/122).
Related links
- Crimes against humanity (International Law Commission): Analytical guide | Summary of the work
