50 international peace and security.”129 In the latter, the General Assembly stated the following: War crimes and crimes against humanity, wherever they are committed, shall be subject to investigation and the persons against whom there is evidence that they have committed such crimes shall be subject to tracing, arrest, trial and, if found guilty, to punishment. [...] States shall not take any legislative or other measures which may be prejudicial to the international obligations they have assumed in regard to the detection, arrest, extradition 130 and punishment of persons guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity. 107. Likewise, Resolutions 827 and 955 of the Security Council of the United Nations,131 together with the Charters of the Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia (Article 29) and Rwanda (Article 28), impose on all Member States of the United Nations the obligation to fully cooperate with the Tribunals for the investigation and punishment of those persons accused of having committed serious International Law violations, including crimes against humanity. Likewise, the Secretary General of the United Nations has pointed out that in view of the rules and principles of the United Nations, all peace agreements approved by the United Nations can never promise amnesty for crimes against humanity.132 108. The adoption and enforcement of laws that grant amnesty for crimes against humanity prevents the compliance of the obligations stated above. The Secretary General of the United Nations, in his report about the establishment of the Special Tribunal for Sierra Leona stated the following: While recognizing that amnesty is an accepted legal concept and a gesture of peace and reconciliation at the end of a civil war or an internal armed conflict, the UN has consistently maintained the position that amnesty cannot be granted in respect of international crimes such as genocide, crimes against humanity, or violations of 133 international humanitarian law. 109. The Secretary General also informed that the legal effects of the amnesty granted in Sierra Leona had not been taken into account “given their illegality 129 Cf. UN, Question of the punishment of war criminals and of persons who have committed crimes against humanity, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in Resolution 2583 (XXIV) of December 15, 1969. 130 Cf. UN, Principles of International Cooperation in the Detection, Arrest, Extradition and Punishment of Persons Guilty of War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in Resolution 3074 (XXVIII) December 3, 1973. 131 Cf. UN Resolution of the Security Council S/RES/827 for the establishment of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia of March 25, 1993; and Resolution of the Security Council S/RES/955 for the establishment of an International Criminal Case for Rwanda of November 8, 1994. 132 Cf. UN Report of the Secretary General S/2004/616 on the Rule of Law and Transitional Justice in conflict and post-conflict societies of August 3, 2004, para. 10. 133 Cf. UN Report of the Secretary General S/2000/915 on the establishment of a Tribunal for Sierra Leona, of October 4, 2000, para. 22.

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