A broad coalition of organizations and individuals has welcomed the start of preparatory work on a new Crimes Against Humanity Convention, describing it as a critical opportunity to strengthen international protection against gender-based crimes. The signatories emphasize the need for a gender-competent and intersectional treaty-making process that reflects the lived experiences of victims, particularly women and girls, and ensures that their perspectives shape the convention’s definitions, procedures, accountability mechanisms, and reparations framework.
The declaration calls on states to explicitly recognize and codify a range of gender-based harms that meet the threshold of crimes against humanity. These include forced marriage, reproductive violence, gender apartheid, and slave trade-related practices, with the aim of closing gaps in international criminal law and ensuring comprehensive legal recognition of these abuses under the future treaty.
A central demand of the initiative is that victims and survivors be placed at the heart of the convention. The signatories stress that justice mechanisms must be accessible, meaningful, and responsive, with safe and structured consultations ensuring participation throughout negotiations and implementation. They also call for a broad and inclusive legal definition of victims and for provisions guaranteeing prompt, full, and effective reparations.
The statement further urges states to embed gender competence throughout the entire convention. This includes using gender-inclusive language, applying intersectional analysis across all provisions, and ensuring strong non-discrimination and equality clauses. It also highlights the importance of integrating gender expertise into negotiations, maintaining civil society participation, and ensuring gender parity among delegations involved in drafting the treaty.
Supported by a wide global network of human rights organizations, legal institutions, and individual experts, the declaration frames the proposed convention as a landmark opportunity to strengthen international justice. It underscores that addressing gender-based crimes effectively requires not only legal recognition but also structural reforms that ensure accountability, prevention, and survivor-centered justice within international law.
