THE JURISPRUDENCE OF THE LEGAL EQUATION OF GLOBAL POVERTY AND CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY

Abstract

There have been efforts at equating the legal causes and consequences of global poverty vis a vis crime against humanity. The gap between the haves and the have nots has continued to increase over the years in the world. Crime against humanity is a crime in international criminal law that consists of various acts such as murder, servitude, tyranny, forcible transfers of populations, rape, grave oppression, and enforced disappearance, among others. States are saddled with the legal obligation to guarantee the welfare and security of their citizens by carrying out policies meant to eradicate poverty. Unfortunately, many States have failed in this direction. This paper posits that there is plethora of reasons why global poverty should be treated as crimes against humanity which includes the fact that it dehumanizes human beings. This is premised on the standard and guidelines generally accepted in the definition of crimes against humanity as enshrined in various international laws, especially the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and International Military Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and other related constituted national and international courts. This paper submits that the causes of global poverty are comparable with the crimes of slavery, torture, murder, etc because poverty in itself is a humongous crime against humanity. The international community must bring to book the few rich and well-to-do persons whose commercial activities ignite poverty and deprivation in the world and treat them in the same way those who commit rape, tyranny, servitude, murder, and grave exploitation are treated. This is the right thing to do and a better way to guarantee and uphold the right to good and meaningful life of the common man. The international community should rise up to the occasion to protect the impoverished from the horrendous human institutions and oppression by the infinitesimal opulent and privileged few in the world. Consequently, this paper seeks to analytically show the nexus between poverty and human rights from the legal periscope of international human rights law.