Historic move: Convention against Crimes Against Humanity nears reality

The Hague, Netherlands — 28 January 2026. After decades of tireless work by advocates, civil society and the legal community, a Convention against Crimes Against Humanity (CAH) is finally nearing reality. This January, governments officially began negotiating the Convention text.

The results of these negotiations will determine whether the Convention is able to truly deliver justice for victims and survivors of some of the most serious crimes under international law- crimes that occur on a widespread scale and cause untold devastation to not only victims and survivors, but also entire communities and societies.

Realising the potential of this future Convention requires ensuring that the negotiation process and text of the Convention are survivor-centred. During negotiations, victims and survivors must be able to meaningfully participate through safe consultations at the national level, and their perspectives should be taken into account in all aspects of the Convention’s text, from the definition of victim to the provisions on prevention and reparations.

As negotiations begin, the Mukwege Foundation is proud to join with over 180 other organisations, activists and experts in calling on states to ensure a survivor-centred treaty text and negotiation process: https://cahtreatynow.org/advancing-gender-justice-in-the-crimes-against-humanity-convention-a-declaration/ 

Here you can read more about the proposals for a survivor-centred Crimes Against Humanity Convention:  https://cahtreatynow.org/summary-the-draft-crimes-against-humanity-convention-and-centering-victims-and-survivors/