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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 April 2017
The General Assembly of the United Nations, at its 179th plenary meeting on December 9, 1948, unanimously approved the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, and proposed it for signature and ratification or accession in accordance with Article XI thereof. Article I of the Convention provides that “genocide, whether committed in time of peace or in time of war, is a crime under international law.” Article V stipulates that the Contracting Parties undertake to enact, in accordance with their respective constitutions, the necessary legislation to provide effective penalties for persons guilty of genocide or any of the other acts made punishable under the Convention. Such persons are to be tried, according to Article VI, “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.” The Convention thus envisages the possible creation of an international penal tribunal.
page 478 note 1 For text of Convention, see General Assembly, 3rd Sess., Official Records, Pt. I, Resolutions, pp. 174-177. For proceedings of the meeting, see General Assembly, 3rd Sess., Official Records, Pt. I, Plenary Meetings, Summary Records, pp. 831-852.
page 478 note 2 Art. XI of the Convention provides:
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.
The present Convention shall be ratified, and the instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the united Nations.
After 1 January 1950, the present Convention may be acceded to on behalf of any Member of the United Nations and of any non-member State which has received an invitation as aforesaid.
Instruments of accession shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
As of April 27, 1949, 23 states had signed the Convention.
page 478 note 3 Art. III of the Convention reads: “The following acts shall be punishable : (a) Genocide; (b) Conspiracy to commit genocide; (c) Direct and public incitement to commit genocide; (d) Attempt to commit genocide; (e) Complicity in genocide.”
page 479 note 4 General Assembly resolution 260 (III) B. For text, see General Assembly, 3rd Sees., Official Records, Pt. I, Resolutions, p. 177.
page 479 note 5 U. N. Docs. E/794; E/794/Corr.1.
page 479 note 6 For a brief history of the draft convention, see U. N. Doc. A/760, pars. 1-6.
page 479 note 7 China, France, Lebanon, United States of America voted for ; Poland, Soviet Union, Venezuela voted against. See Report of the ađ hoc Committee, U. N. Doe. E/794, p. 11.
page 479 note 8 Ibid.
page 480 note 9 U. N. Doc. A/C.6/SR.97, p. 19.
page 480 note 10 U. N. Doc. A/C.6/255. This amendment, however, did not stipulate details concerning the constitution of the proposed international criminal court, but left them to later consideration.
page 480 note 11 U. N. Doc. A/C.6/SR.97, pp. 9, 10.
page 480 note 12 Ibid., p. 14; U. N. Doc. A/C.6/SR.98, p. 7.
page 480 note 13 U. N. Doc. A/C.6/SR.97, p. 18.
page 480 note 14 This minority consisted of the representatives of Poland, the Soviet Union, and Venezuela. Report of the ad hoc Committee, U. N. Doc. E/794, p. 11.
page 480 note 15 U. N. Doc. A/C.6/SR.98, pp. 8-9.
page 481 note 16 U. N. Doc. A/C.6/215/Rev. 1.
page 481 note 17 U. N. Doc. A/C.6/SR.98, p. 4.
page 481 note 18 U. N. Doc. A/C.6/SR.97, p. 12.
page 481 note 19 U. N. Doc. A/C.6/SR.98, pp. 5, 6.
page 481 note 20 U. N. Doc. A/C.6/SR.97, p. 13.
page 481 note 21 U. N. Doc. A/C.6/SR.97, p. 18.
page 481 note 22 U. N. Doc. A/C.6/SR.97, pp. 16, 17.
page 482 note 23 U. N. Doc. A/C.6/235.
page 482 note 24 U. N. Doc. A/C.6/236/Corr.1.
page 482 note 25 U. N. Doc. A/C.6/209.
page 483 note 26 U. N. Doc. A/C.6/252, pars. 2 and 3.
page 483 note 27 U. N. Doc. A/C.6/SR.97, p. 19.
page 483 note 28 U. N. Doc. A/C.6/SR.98, pp. 7-8.
page 483 note 29 U. N. Doc. A/C.6/SR.97, pp. 8-9.
page 483 note 30 U. N. Doc. A/C.6/SR.98, p. 11.
page 483 note 31 Ibid., pp. 11-13. Explanation to this effect was made by the representatives of Luxembourg, Poland, Peru, Belgium, United Kingdom, Canada and Cuba.
page 483 note 32 U. N. Doc. A/C.6/SR.98, p. 11. The representatives of Canada, Haiti, United States and Uruguay also made statements on their negative votes.
page 483 note 33 U. N. Docs. A/C.6/288 and 289/Rev.1.
page 484 note 34 U. N. Doc. A/C.6/295.
page 484 note 35 U. N. Doc. A/C.6/SR.129, p. 7.
page 484 note 36 Ibid., p. 9.
page 484 note 37 Ibid., p. 10.
page 484 note 38 U. N. Doc. A/C.6/299.
page 484 note 39 U. N. Doc. A/C.6/SR.129, p. 11.
page 484 note 40 Ibid., p. 12.
page 484 note 41 U. N. Doc. A/C.6/SR.130, p. 4.
page 484 note 42 Ibid., p. 16.
page 485 note 43 U. N. Doc. A/C.6/218.
page 485 note 44 U. N. Docs. A/C.6/248 and A/C.6/248/Rev.1.
page 485 note 45 U. N. Doc. A/C.6/SR.99, p. 2.
page 485 note 46 Ibid., p. 8. This resolution became resolution 260 (III) B. See note 4, supra.
page 485 note 47 U. N. Docs. A/760 and A/760/Corr.2.
page 485 note 48 U. N. Doc. A/766.
page 486 note 49 U. N. Docs. A/P.V.178 and A/P.V.179.
page 486 note 50 U. N. Doc. A/P.V.179, pp. 56, 57-60.