International criminal law and social rights

The destruction of the livelihoods of a population, forced displacement, pillage, deliberate starvation or other disrespectful policies are common in situations in which international crimes are committed, particularly in situations of armed conflict. The relationships between social rights and international criminal law are, however, not straightforward. Social rights abuses are sometimes described as causes or drivers of international crimes and vice versa, the commission of international crimes can severely affect the protection of social rights. Moreover, international criminal proceedings or other approaches based on international criminal law (for example, transitional justice mechanisms such as truth commissions or reparations programmes) can potentially have a positive or negative impact on social rights. The chapter also outlines the argument that there can be situations in which international crimes are committed by way of abusing social rights. This means that international and domestic criminal tribunals can be competent to engage with conduct harming social rights.