On Nov. 22, the Sixth Committee of the United Nations General Assembly approved without vote the draft text of the “United Nations Conference of Plenipotentiaries on Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Humanity.” The Sixth Committee is charged with considering legal issues that come before the General Assembly; the United States as a member state of the United Nations is entitled to representation on this committee. The Crimes Against Humanity Convention is based on the work of the International Law Commission, which was established in 1947 by the General Assembly to essentially develop and codify international law, much as “uniform law commissions” seek to do domestically. The proposed treaty now moves forward with a negotiation process among states beginning in 2026, with a three week UN conference on the convention to occur in 2028 and 2029. Remarks made in October 2024 by the United States applauded the draft convention articles as “an important step forward” in filling the gap for accountability since, unlike the cases of genocide, war crimes, torture, enforced disappearances and apartheid, there is no multilateral treaty on crimes against humanity. The proposed convention addresses attacks on civilians not just in war zones, but in peacetime as well, and sets out a mandatory framework for nations to address the defined crimes against humanity in national courts.