Abstract

The concept of crimes against humanity has its origin in the response to the atrocities committed in 1915 by the Turkish Army against the Armenian people. In 1945 it found its way into the London Agreement in terms of which the Nuremberg Tribunals were established to prosecute the Nazi leaders for the war crimes commit-ted by them. Since then, crimes against humanity have been recognised in customary international law and are reflected in international conventions establishing war crimes tribunals. The drafting of a United Nations Convention devoted to the suppression of crimes against humanity has reached an advanced stage.