Preparatory Committee For UN Conference On Crimes Against Humanity Opens 1st Session

UNITED NATIONS, Xinhua: The first session of the Preparatory Committee for the UN Conference of Plenipotentiaries on Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Humanity opened on Monday.

The conference scheduled for 2028 and 2029 is tasked to draft a convention on the prevention and punishment of crimes against humanity.

Declan Smyth of Ireland was elected chair of the Preparatory Committee.

Due to opposition from Russia and some other countries and country groups, Smyth declared to postpone the formation of the Bureau of the Preparatory Committee.

According to UN General Assembly rules of procedure, a UN legal counsel who facilitated the election of the committee chair proposed that the bureau be made up of five members, one from each of the five regional groups.

A Russian representative expressed concern that the proposed composition may lack representation. The Russian position was widely supported by Global South countries and other country groups. Countries from the group of Western European and other States were in favor of the five-member proposal.

The first session of the Preparatory Committee will last until Jan. 30.

The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution in December 2024 for the convening of the conference in 2028 and 2029 “to elaborate and conclude a legally binding instrument on prevention and punishment of crimes against humanity.”