Twenty-one of the defendants, whom were Nazi stood trial for their war crimes at the Palace of Justice in Nuremberg. These men, only eight months prior to trial, were under the control of Adolf Hitler. "After listening to prosecutors read a long list of atrocities in slave labor factories and concentration camps, each defendant pled not guilty to charges of crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity"(A Look back at Nuremberg). .
With the aftermath of the wars of 20th century, the necessity for a solution to all the atrocities that had taken place grew stronger and stronger. In response to the cruelties the Jewish people and the rest of the world faced due to the turmoil Hitler caused, the General Assembly stated, "Recognizing that all periods of history, genocide has inflicted great losses on humanity; and being convinced that, in order to liberate mankind from such ad odious scourge, international co-operation is required"(Rome Statute). One of the primary goals of the United Nations is to secure universal respect for individual rights throughout the world. "There can be no peace without justice, no justice without law and no meaningful law without a Court to decide what is just and lawful under any given circumstance"(Rome Statute). With this in mind, the international community met in Rome, Italy from June 15 to July 17 1998 to draft a statute to ensure respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms of individuals. This statute which will establish an international criminal court (ICC) is a crucial step forward. .
"From now on, all potential warlords must know that, depending on how a .
conflict develops, there might be established an international tribunal.
before which those will be brought who violate the laws of war and .
humanitarian law .Everyone must now be presumed to know the .
Contents of the most basic provision of international criminal law;.
