Criminal Code Act 1995

Schedule - The Criminal Code  

Section 3

CHAPTER 8 - OFFENCES AGAINST HUMANITY AND RELATED OFFENCES  

Division 268 - Genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes against the administration of the justice of the International Criminal Court  

Subdivision C - Crimes against humanity  

SECTION 268.20   Crime against humanity - persecution  

(1)    
A person (the perpetrator ) commits an offence if:

(a) the perpetrator severely deprives one or more persons of any of the rights referred to in paragraph (b); and

(b) the rights are those guaranteed in articles 6, 7, 8 and 9, paragraph 2 of article 14, article 18, paragraph 2 of article 20, paragraph 2 of article 23 and article 27 of the Covenant; and

(c) the perpetrator targets the person or persons by reason of the identity of a group or collectivity or targets the group or collectivity as such; and

(d) the grounds on which the targeting is based are political, racial, national, ethnic, cultural, religious, gender or other grounds that are recognised in paragraph 1 of article 2 of the Covenant; and

(e) the perpetrator ' s conduct is committed in connection with another act that is:

(i) a proscribed inhumane act; or

(ii) genocide; or

(iii) a war crime; and

(f) the perpetrator ' s conduct is committed intentionally or knowingly as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population.

Penalty: Imprisonment for 17 years.

(2)    
Strict liability applies to:

(a) the physical element of the offence referred to in paragraph (1)(a) that the rights are those referred to in paragraph (1)(b) ; and

(b) paragraphs (1)(b) and (d).