How are individuals held accountable for crimes under international law?
Holding individuals accountable for crimes under international law is primarily the duty of states. States are obliged under international law to take legislative and other measures that would enable them to domestically bring to justice persons suspected of crimes under international law. This includes the right to exercise universal jurisdiction over genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture and enforced disappearances – meaning that a state can prosecute and try the perpetrator of these acts even if he or she is not a national and the crime was not committed in its territory. As opposed to the implementation mechanisms outlined in question 24 above, the primary aim of which is to ensure state compliance with international law obligations, there are also international judicial mechanisms for holding individuals accountable for violations that constitute crimes under international law when states are unable or unwilling to do so. In 1993 and 1994, the UN Security Council
