International Law Commission Releases Report on the Obligation to Extradite or Prosecute (December 10, 2014) [1]
On December 10, 2014, the United Nations finished its review of the International Law Commission’s final report [3] on “The Obligation to Extradite or Prosecute” (the Report). The Report examined provisions of several international instruments regarding the obligation to extradite or prosecute and made several clarifications “in order to assist States in this matter.” The Report notes that the view that “the obligation to extradite or prosecute plays a crucial role in the fight against impunity is widely shared by States [and] the obligation applies in respect of a wide range of crimes of serious concern to the international community and has been included in all sectoral conventions against international terrorism concluded since 1970.” This principle is particularly important because of the “grave nature of the crimes involved [genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes] and the desire to combat impunity for individuals who commit these crimes.” The UN General Assembly recommended [4] “that the Commission continue work on the topics in its current programme.”