Posted: August 10th, 2022

International Criminal Law Should Endorse Reparations to The Descendants

International Criminal Law Should Endorse Reparations to The Descendants of Victims of Historical Slavery
Do you think that international criminal law should endorse reparations to the descendants of victims of historical slavery, when it is far too late to offer any sort of remedy to the victims themselves, who are long since dead? Why or why not?

International Criminal Law Should Endorse Reparations to The Descendants of Victims of Historical Slavery
Reparation in international criminal law involves the right to remedy when once rights are violated. The principle relating to reparation was established by Article 75.1 of the Rome Statute, which mandates the Court to establish reparation principles with respect to victims, such as compensation, restitution, and rehabilitation. However, the Court has to determine the scope and extent by which the damages, losses, or injury to the victim or in respect of the victim. There are various issues with regard to reparations to the descendants of victims of the historical slaver. Since the international criminal law provides that reparation entails actions of making amends for a wrong done to an individual by a country. Therefore, international criminal law should endorse reparations to the descendants of the victims of historical slavery, even if it’s far too late to offer any sort of remedy to the victims themselves.
The endorsement of providing reparations to the victims’ descendants will first be assigned to the al world as a way of indicating that the enslavement of Africans was a crime against humanity. The crime against humanity is defined by the Charter of the Nuremberg Tribunal as murder, deportation, enslavement, and other types of acts that are considered inhumane. The concept developed by the charter clearly created new laws that have been endorse in international criminal law. Therefore, to ensure justice is done with regard to enslavement as a crime against humanity, then the remedy of those individuals who were enslaved should only be provided to their descendants.
The endorsement of reparations on the descendants of victims of historical slavery by the international criminal law will also act as a way of proving an apology on behalf of the United States. Most descendants of the individuals that were slaved have lived decades in poor conditions due to a poor background contributed by slavery, such individuals will be remaining blaming the United States and its citizens for playing a role in making their lives become miserable. The anger that continues to but in the descendants of slaves may contribute to various social issues in the United States society, such as racial discrimination. Therefore, providing a remedy to the descendants of slavery victims would an indication that the wrong that was done is highly condemned and the victims are recognized. The move will set a forgiving mode that will allow people to deal with some of the threatening issues in the United States society, such as racism that are highly linked to slavery.
The other reason for the international criminal law endorses reparations to the descendants of the victims of historical slavery is because there is no legal barrier preventing the claim by the descendants of the original victim since they suffered from the loss of their ancestral land and also lost their social fabric. The consequences of enslaving a victim were paid by their descendants, which is similar when compared in the nation-state, whereby the nation-states that paid for the consequences of enslavement have the right to claim reparations from the colonial governments on behalf of their citizens.
References
Gifford, A. (2000). The Legal Basis of the Claim for Slavery Reparations – Human Rights Magazine, Spring 2000. ABA. Retrieved from https://www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/publications/human_rights_magazine_home/human_rights_vol27_2000/spring2000/hr_spring00_gifford/
Shelton, D., Ingadottir, T. (1999). The International Criminal Court Reparations to Victims of Crimes (Article 75 of the Rome Statute) and the Trust Fund (Aritcle 79). Center on International Cooperation. Retrieved from http://www.vrwg.org/downloads/reparations.pdf

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