Paragraph 6, 4
of the rome statute
of the International Criminal Court
sets out the act of preventing births
within the group
This is an act of genocide
Of course the definition of
the punishable act of preventing births
has to be read in conjunction with the
introductory paragraphs or chapeau
of article 6 so that the
prevention of the births has to
be committed with the intended to destroy
the group in whole or in part.
The drafting history of the 1948 convention
suggests that the measures intended to prevent
births might include sterilization
compulsory abortion, segregation of the sexes
and even obstacles to marriage
There has only been one conviction
to my knowledge
under this provision
and that is the conviction of Adolf Eichmann
the Nazi
who was tried in Israel in the early 1960s
and was convicted on various counts
which were in effect derived from article 2
of the genocide convention which
is the same text as we find in
article 6 of the Rome Statute of
the International Criminal Court
Eichmann was charged with quote
"devising measures
to preventing child bearing among the Jews"
and the district court in finding him
guilty said, and I quote,
"He devised measures, the purpose of which
was to prevent child bearing among Jews
by his instruction forbidding births and
for the interruption of pregnancy of Jewish
women in the ghetto with intent to exterminate the
Jewish people.
The International court of justice
has without making a finding that the
act applies but nevertheless
it has attempted to define the definition
to explain the interpretation of the definition
of genocide
and it has said that rape
and other acts of sexual violence may
have fallen under the act of genocide
where the circumstances of commission
as well as their consequences are such that
I quote,
"That the capacity of the members of the group
to procreate is affected. Likewise the systematic
nature of such acts has
to be considered in determining
whether they are capable of constituting
the act or material act of the crime of genocide
by the prevention of births.