Human Rights Commission Seeks to Speed Up Action on War Crimes Convention

The Human Rights Commission began discussion today on the apprehension and punishment of war criminals, the subject of a draft convention turned over to the General Assembly by the Commission last year and since amended to include an article on the non-applicability of the statute of limitations to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Today’s discussion was opened by the representative of Poland, Eugeniusz Wyzner, who introduced a resolution asking the Secretary-General to submit a report on means to ensure the arrest, extradition and punishment of war criminals and perpetrators of crimes against humanity. He urged that the report be submitted in time for consideration by the Commission next year. Such a study had been requested by the Economic and Social Council in 1966.

The General Assembly which has not been able to complete consideration of the draft convention on war criminals, has, in the interim requested all member states not to adopt any laws which may be prejudicial to the aims of the convention before it is adopted.

The Polish delegate said that war crimes and crimes against humanity were the cruelest crimes known to international law. He complained that even the Federal Republic of West Germany which, he said, was known as “a protector of war criminals” had not been able to bring about the extradition of war criminals from other countries because of the existence of a statute of limitations, the absence of extradition treaties or because the accused had adopted the nationality of the country of residence.

Mr. Wyzner proposed that the Commission should not confine itself to the penal aspects of the situation but should go into the question of just compensation for the victims were four and a half million Poles.