International community mustn’t fail the test |
At the United Nations, history is never a distant echo. It remains a living yardstick against which today’s conduct is measured. When Sun Lei, charge d’affaires of China’s Permanent Mission to the UN, urged the international community to prevent Japan from reverting to “the old and pernicious path of militarism”, his appeal was rooted not only in painful historical memory, but also in sober concern for the future of international peace and security.
Crimes against humanity are among the gravest offenses under international law. As Sun underscored at the first session of the Preparatory Committee for the UN Conference of Plenipotentiaries on Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Humanity on Monday, this concept emerged from the charters of the Nuremberg Tribunal and the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (Tokyo Trials), embodying the conscience of humankind after World War II. The Tokyo Trials, which began 80 years ago, systematically exposed and adjudicated the crimes of Japanese militarism — from its wars of aggression to the atrocities it inflicted on the people of China, other Asian nations and the wider world.
The Tokyo Trials constitute irrefutable evidence of Japan’s wartime aggression and pioneered the development of international criminal law. They........