Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide

The Commission on Human Rights,

Guided by the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, as well as other relevant international human rights instruments,

Recalling that the General Assembly, in its resolution 96 (I) of 11 December 1946, declared genocide to be a crime under international law, contrary to the spirit and aims of the United Nations,

Welcoming General Assembly resolution 53/43 of 2 December 1998 on the fiftieth anniversary of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and recalling its own resolution 1998/10 of 3 April 1998 on the same subject,

Stressing the significance of the adoption of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court on 17 July 1998,

Mindful of the suffering that genocide has caused to mankind and that the danger of the repetition of genocide has not completely disappeared,

Convinced that the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Commission on Human Rights can contribute to preventing situations in which the crime of genocide could be committed,

1. Stresses the importance of and the need to implement the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide;

2. Decides to examine the matter at its fifty-seventh session.

58th meeting
28 April 1999

[Adopted by a roll-call vote of 48 votes to none, with 5 abstentions. See chap. XVII.]