Reparations for Cultural Heritage Destruction at the ICC and the Limits of Human Rights

This paper takes stock of the precedent the Al Mahdi case created both in the field of cultural heritage and that of reparations at the ICC. It notes that, despite the favourable environment to employ a human rights approach vis-à-vis destruction of cultural heritage, the Al Mahdi reparations order glossed over human rights instruments, reports and commentaries. By accident or design, this nevertheless represents a precedent in the reparative legal framework of the Court. What could be the reasons behind this silence? And, should this precedent be followed? I will argue that there are indeed good reasons for this silence ranging from judicial economy, ICC jurisdictional limits, to fair trial considerations. “What human rights gives you is human rights” (Lupin, 2022) and one needs to be aware not only of their power and possibilities, but also of their limitations and undesirable implications.