Table of contents:
Element:
7. The person or persons were under the age of 18 years.
P.11. Evidence of identifying persons by use of identity cards.
A. Evidentiary comment:
Children are not defined in the Rome Statute or the Genocide Convention itself. However, under international law, children would appear to mean persons not having attained 18 years of age, unless specified otherwise. The Convention on the Rights of the Child defines children in this way. This approach is endorsed in the Elements of Crimes text, which specifies that children for the purposes of this crime are below eighteen years of age. Older children, who are less likely to lose their cultural identity, would seem to fall outside the purposes of criminalisation of forcible transfer as a genocidal act. It is further noted that whilst the transfer of adults would obviously not fall within this definition, such conduct may constitute a war crime or a crime against humanity.
