In Spring 2008, under the direction of Professor Leila Sadat, Director, the Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute of Washington University School of Law embarked upon a project to study the need for a comprehensive convention on crimes against humanity, analyze the necessary elements of such a convention, and draft a proposed treaty. This "Crimes Against Humanity Initiative" will take place in four phases, over a period of three years, as follows:

• Phase I. Preparation of the project and methodological development, including the formation of a project Steering Committee;
• Phase II. Private study of the project through the commission of working papers by leading experts, the convening of expert meetings, and collaborative discussion of draft treaty language at expert meetings held in St. Louis, Missouri and The Hague;
• Phase III. Public discussion of the project and presentation of the draft convention at a global conference to be convened in Washington, D.C. in March 2010; and
• Phase IV. Widening consultations with the appropriate academic and diplomatic communities as well as civil society, leading to publication and promotion of the draft treaty. This phase will begin during the Fall of 2009 and continue through the completion of the Regional Conferences to be held in connection with the Initiative as part of a global awareness campaign focusing on the prevention and punishment of crimes against humanity.

The Initiative is led by a Steering Committee, chaired by Professor Leila Nadya Sadat, and consists of:

• Leila Nadya Sadat, chair, and the Henry H. Oberschelp Professor of Law and director of the Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute, Washington University Law;
• M. Cherif Bassiouni, the Distinguished Research Professor of Law and president emeritus, International Human Rights Law Institute, DePaul University;
• Ambassador Hans Corell, former United Nations Under-Secretary for Legal Affairs;
• Justice Richard Goldstone, former justice of the South African Constitutional Court and former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia;
• Juan Méndez, former president of the International Center for Transitional Justice and the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights;
• William Schabas, director of the Irish Centre for Human Rights of the National University of Ireland, Galway; and
• Judge Christine Van Den Wyngaert, of the International Criminal Court.

During Phase II, forty-six experts gathered at Washington University School of Law for the first public meeting of the Crimes Against Humanity Initiative on April 13-15, 2009. The agenda featured fourteen commissioned papers each of which addressed a particular aspect of the law and practice relating to crimes against humanity. Additionally, a preliminary draft treaty was presented and debated. On June 11-12, 2009, fifty-eight experts gathered in The Hague for the intersessional meeting of the Crimes Against Humanity Initiative. The agenda featured three panel discussions addressing the need for a comprehensive convention on crimes against humanity, the relationship between such a convention and the International Criminal Court, and enforcement issues. A revised draft treaty incorporating the input of experts from the first public meeting in St. Louis was presented and discussed. Based upon the significant substantive input from the experts gathered in The Hague, the draft treaty was revised, and further refinement was provided during a small gathering of experts in St. Louis on August 21-23, 2009.

In addition to other public outreach efforts, the expert papers, the draft treaty, and a commentary to the draft treaty will be published by Cambridge University Press. Given the tremendous interest in the Initiative and its goals, it is expected that the Initiative's publications will be widely disseminated and discussed.

The Initiative is a project of the Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute at the Washington University School of Law, and is being funded by a gift from Washington University in St. Louis alumnus Steven Cash Nickerson, and the United States Institute of Peace. More information may be found by visiting the website of the Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute at http://law.wustl.edu/crimesagainsthumanity/.