WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY AND
GENOCIDE?
Crimes against humanity
and genocide are two distinct concepts. The basic difference between the
two concepts is as follows: Crimes against humanity target killing of a very large
numbers of individuals. Genocide focuses not on the killing of individuals, but
on the destruction of groups such as religious affiliation, race, ethnicity,
etc. In other words, in a genocide, the perpetrator targets a large number of
individuals who form part of a single group. The two concepts have different
objectives. One aims at protecting the individuals; the other aims at
protecting the groups.
The legal definition of
the two concepts came into practice towards the end of World War II when the Allies
were working on establishing the Nuremburg trials for the charging leading Nazi
defendants of one of these two concepts. After a big debate on the issue, the
leading prosecutors charged the defendant with crimes of humanity. They argued
that the crimes were committed against a huge number of individuals.
In 1998, the statute of
the International Criminal Court (ICC) was drafted, it contained both crimes
against humanity and genocide provisions. Prosecutors claiming that a genocide
has taken place must show that the person who did the act intended to destroy a
group. Similarly, prosecutors who claim that crimes of humanity are committed,
must provide evidence that the person involved in those crimes intended to kill
individuals.
And finally, according
to article 63(1) of the Statute of Rome, the ICC does not conduct trials in
absentia. This means the person charged with crimes should be handed over or arrested outside his country.
Gabriel Sawma is a lawyer with Middle East Background, and a recognized authority on Islamic law of marriage, divorce, and custody of children, Professor of Middle East Constitutional Law and Islamic Sharia (law), and Expert Consultant on Islamic divorce in U.S. Courts. Admitted to the Lebanese Bar Association. Former Associate Member of the New York State Bar Association, and former Associate Member of the American Bar Association.
Professor Sawma lectured at the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) in New York State and universities in the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East. He wrote Affidavits and legal opinions to State Courts, Immigration authorities throughout the United States.
Travelled extensively to Saudi Arabia, the Arabian Gulf region, and other countries in the Middle East, and wrote numerous articles on Islamic divorce in USA and abroad.
Prof. Sawma speaks, reads and writes, Arabic, English, French and a few other Semitic languages spoken in the Middle East.
Interviewed by the following news organizations;
BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8608878.stm
CNN:http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/11/11/egypt.divorce/index.html
CBN: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdwReohaIcs
Professor of Islamic Finance at the University of Liverpool (2012)
CONTACT INFORMATION
Email: gabrielsawma@yahoo.com
Email: gabygms@gmail.com
Tel. (609) 915-2237
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