Crime against humanity
A crime against humanity is the result of persecution against a group, and
is so heinous as to warrant punishment under international law. The term was
first used in the preamble of the Hague Convention of 1907, and subsequently
used during the Nuremberg trials as a charge for actions such as the
Holocaust which did not violate a specific treaty but were deemed to require punishment.
The term has been criticized for being extremely vague and for being
politically defined. For example, Nazi attempts to eliminate certain ethnic
groups were considered crimes against humanity yet Soviet attempts to
eliminate certain economic groups were not by some people.
In its Article 7, the treaty establishing the International Criminal Court says:
For the purpose of this Statute, "crime against humanity" means 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: (a) Murder; (b) Extermination; (c) Enslavement; ...