Full opinion text
ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS ARCHER-DANIELS-MIDLAND CO., NESTLE U.S.A., AND CAR-GILL INC.’S MOTION TO DISMISS PLAINTIFFS’ FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT PURSUANT TO FED. R. CIV. P. 12(b)(6) FOR FAILURE TO STATE A CLAIM STEPHEN V. WILSON, District Judge. I. INTRODUCTION On July 14, 2005, Plaintiffs John Doe I, John Doe II, John Doe III, and Global Exchange (collectively “Plaintiffs”) filed this class action for damages and injunctive relief. On July 10, 2009, Plaintiffs filed a first amended complaint. The amended complaint asserts causes of action under the Aien Tort Statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1350; the Torture Victim Protection Act, Pub. L. 102-256, 106 Stat. 73 (1992); state-law unjust enrichment; and Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 17200 et seq. Defendants are Nestle, S.A. (based in Switzerland), Nestle, U.S.A., and Nestle Cote d’Ivoire, S.A. (collectively “Nestle”); Cargill, Incorporated (“Cargill, Inc.”), Car-gill Cocoa (based in the United States), and Cargill West Africa, S.A. (collectively “Cargill”); and Archer Daniels Midland Company (“Archer Daniels Midland”) (collectively “Defendants”). Defendants Nestle U.S.A., Cargill Inc., and Archer Daniels Midland have filed a Motion to Dismiss the First Amended Complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. II. LEGAL STANDARD In order to survive a Rule 12(b)(6) Motion to Dismiss, a plaintiffs complaint “must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’ ” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. -, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)). “A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Id. “Factual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level on the assumption that all of the complaint’s allegations are true.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955. A complaint that offers mere “labels and conclusions” or “a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.” Iqbal, 129 S.Ct. at 1951; see also Moss v. U.S. Secret Service, 572 F.3d 962, 969 (9th Cir.2009) (citing Iqbal, 129 S.Ct. at 1951). Courts should not “unlock the doors of discovery for a plaintiff armed with nothing more than conclusions.” Iqbal, 129 S.Ct. at 1950. III. FACTS The individual Plaintiffs are Malians who allege that they were forced to labor on cocoa fields in Cote dTvoire. Plaintiffs seek class status on behalf of similarly situated Malians who were forced to labor in Cote dTvoire. The remaining Plaintiff, Global Exchange, is a San Francisco-based human rights organization that promotes social justice. Plaintiffs allege that they have filed suit in the United States because: (1) there is no law in Mali allowing civil damages for their injuries caused by non-Malian cocoa exporters (as all Defendants are American, European, or Ivorian corporations); (2) no suit can be brought in Cote dTvoire because “the judicial system is notoriously corrupt and would likely be unresponsive to the claims of foreign children against major cocoa corporations operating in and bringing significant revenue to Cote dTvoire” (FAC ¶ 2); (3) Plaintiffs and their attorneys would be subjected to possible harm in Cote dTvoire on account of general civil unrest and “the general hostility by cocoa producers in the region”; and (4) the United States has provided an appropriate forum for these claims through the Alien Tort Statute and the Torture Victim Protection Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1350. Plaintiffs claim that Defendants have aided and abetted violations of international law norms that prohibit slavery; forced labor; child labor; torture; and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. Plaintiffs also seek relief under state-law unjust enrichment. All Plaintiffs (including Global Exchange) allege violations of Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200. Plaintiffs allege that Defendants obtain an “ongoing, cheap supply of cocoa by maintaining exclusive supplier/buyer relationships with local farms and/or farmer cooperatives in Cote dTvoire.” (FAC ¶ 33.) These exclusive contractual arrangements allow Defendants “to dictate the terms by which such farms produce and supply cocoa to them, including specifically the labor conditions under which the beans are produced.” (Id.) Defendants control the farms’ labor conditions “by providing local farmers and/or farmer cooperatives inter alia ongoing financial support, including advance payments and personal spending money to maintain the farmers’ and/or the cooperatives’ loyalty as exclusive suppliers; farming supplies, including fertilizers, tools and equipment; training and capaeity[-]building in particular growing and fermentation techniques and general farm maintenance, including appropriate labor practices, to grow the quality and quantity of cocoa beans they desire.” (FAC ¶ 34.) This oversight requires Defendants to engage in “training and quality control visits [that] occur several times per year and require frequent and ongoing visits to the farms either by Defendants directly or via their contracted agents.” (Id.) Plaintiffs identify certain of Nestle’s representations in which Nestle states that it “ ‘provides assistance in crop production’ ” and performs “ ‘tracking inside our company supply chain, i.e. from the reception of raw and packaging materials, production of finished products to delivery to customers.’ ” (FAC ¶ 36 (quoting Nestle “Principles of Purchasing,” 2006).) Nestle also states that “ ‘[i]n dealing with suppliers, Purchasing must insist on knowing the origin of incoming materials and require suppliers to communicate the origin of their materials,’ ” and that it “ ‘actively participate^] as the first link in an integrated supply chain,’ ‘developfs] supplier relationships,’ and ‘continually monitors] the performance, reliability and viability of suppliers.’ ” (Id.) Nestle also states that its “ ‘Quality System covers all steps in the food supply chain, from the farm to the consumer of the final products ..., including] working together with producers and suppliers of raw ... materials.’ ” (FAC ¶ 37.) Finally, Nestle has stated that “ ‘[w]hile we do not own any farmland, we use our influence to help suppliers meet better standards in agriculture---Working directly in our supply chain we provide technical assistance to farmers.’ ” (FAC ¶ 38.) This assistance “ ‘ranges from technical assistance on income generation to new strategies to deal with crop infestation, to specific interventions designed to address issues of child labour,’ ” including “ ‘[s]pecific programmes directed at farmers in West Africa [such as] field schools to help farmers with supply chain issues, as well as a grassroots ‘training of trainers’ programme to help eliminate the worst forms of child labour.’ ” (Id.) Plaintiffs identify certain of Archer Daniels Midland’s representations in which the company states that its relationship with the SIFCA cooperative “ ‘gives ADM Cocoa an unprecedented degree of control over its raw material supply, quality and handling.’ ” (FAC ¶ 39 (quoting ADM statements contained in 2001 article in Biscuit World).) An Archer Daniels Midland executive has been quoted as saying “‘ADM Cocoa can deliver consistent top quality products by control of its raw materials,’ and that ‘ADM is focused on having direct contact with farmers in order to advise and support them to produce higher quality beans for which they will receive a premium.’ ” (Id.) Archer Daniels Midland has represented that it has a “ ‘strong presence in [cocoa] origin regions,’ ” and that “ ‘ADM is working hard to help provide certain farmer organizations with the knowledge, tools, and support they need to grow quality cocoa responsibly and in a sustainable manner.... ADM is providing much needed assistance to organizations representing thousands of farmers and farming communities. These efforts are making an impact at the farm level.’ ” (FAC ¶ 40.) It has also stated that it “ ‘is actively involved in long term efforts to ensure that cocoa is grown responsibly and sustainably. Such efforts include research into environmentally sound crop management practices, plant breeding work to develop disease-resistant varieties, and farmer field schools to transfer the latest know-how into the hands of millions of cocoa farmers around the world. Starting from the cocoa growers through to the world’s top food and beverage manufacturers, ADM Cocoa is committed to delivering the best in product quality and service at every stage.’ ” (FAC ¶ 41 (quoting ADM Cocoa Brochure).) Plaintiffs allege that Cargill opened cocoa buying stations in Daloa and Gognoa, and that Cargill’s Micao cocoa processing plant has obtained ISO 9002 certification. Plaintiffs allege that the ISO 9002 certification “is a system of quality standards for food processing from sourcing through processing that inherently requires detailed visits and monitoring of farms.” (FAC ¶ 43.) With respect to all Defendants, Plaintiffs allege generally that “Defendants’ ongoing and continued presence on the cocoa farms” provided “Defendants” with “first hand knowledge of the widespread use of child labor on said farms.” (FAC ¶ 44.) Plaintiffs also allege that various governmental and non-governmental actors have provided “numerous, well-documented reports of child labor.” (Id.) Plaintiffs allege that “Defendants not only purchased cocoa from farms and/or farmer cooperatives which they knew or should have known relied on forced child labor in the cultivating and harvesting of cocoa beans, but Defendants provided such farms with money, supplies, and training to do so with little or no restrictions from the government of Cote d’Ivoire.” (FAC ¶ 47.) Plaintiffs allege that Defendants provided this “money, supplies, and training ... knowing that their assistance would necessarily facilitate child labor.” (FAC ¶ 52.) Plaintiffs also allege that some of the cocoa farms are linked to the Ivorian government: “Upon information and belief, several of the cocoa farms in Cote d’Ivoire from which Defendants source are owned by government officials, whether directly or indirectly, or are otherwise protected by government officials either through the provision of direct security services or through payments made to such officials that allow farms and/or farmer cooperatives to continue the use of child labor.” (FAC ¶ 47.) Plaintiffs allege that “Defendants, because of their economic leverage in the region and exclusive supplier/buyer agreements, each had the ability to control and/or limit the use of forced child labor by the supplier farms and/or farmer cooperatives from which they purchased their cocoa beans, and indeed maintained specific policies against the use of such forced labor practices.” (FAC ¶ 48.) Plaintiffs identify various representations in which Defendants asserted that they abide by international standards, do not use child labor, and take efforts to prevent their business partners from using child labor. (FAC ¶¶ 49-51.) Plaintiffs also allege that Defendants lobbied against a 2001 United States Congressional proposal to require chocolate manufacturers and importers to certify and label their products as “slave free.” (FAC ¶¶ 53-54.) As a result of Defendants’ lobbying efforts, the mandatory law was replaced by a voluntary arrangement known as the Harkin-Engel protocol, in which the chocolate industry agreed upon certain standards by which it would self-regulate its labor practices. (FAC ¶ 55.) Plaintiffs allege that “but for” this lobbying effort, Defendants’ cocoa plantations would not have been able to use child labor. Plaintiff Global Exchange asserts a cause of action under Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200. Plaintiffs allege that Global Exchange’s members are American chocolate consumers who “have expressed a clear desire to purchase products that are not made under exploitative conditions but are incapable of determining whether products contain slave labor produced cocoa or non-slave labor produced cocoa.” (FAC ¶ 61.) Their “interests are being harmed by having to purchase products containing illegally imported, slave labor produced cocoa against their clearly expressed wishes,” (FAC ¶ 61), thus causing them to “suffer[] specific and concrete injuries.” (FAC ¶ 60.) Additionally, Plaintiffs allege that Global Exchange “has fair trade stores” that sell “fair trade chocolate,” and as a result of Defendants’ actions, Global Exchange’s stores “have been forced to pay a premium for this chocolate due to the unfair competition of slave produced chocolate.” (FAC ¶ 60.) Plaintiffs also allege that Global Exchange “has ... been forced to spend significant resources in providing fairly traded chocolate, educating members of the public, and monitoring Defendants’ corporate obligation not to use child labor.” (FAC ¶ 62.) IV. SOSA V. ALVAREZ-MACHAIN AND INTERNATIONAL LAW A. CAUSES OF ACTION FOR VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW 1. SOSA v. ALVAREZ-MACHAIN In Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain, 542 U.S. 692, 124 S.Ct. 2739, 159 L.Ed.2d 718 (2004), the Supreme Court established the requirements for bringing an action under the Alien Tort Statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1350. The Court held that § 1350 is solely a jurisdictional statute and does not create any causes of action. Instead, a limited number of international-law based causes of action are provided by the common law. Thus, although the Alien Tort Statute provides broad federal court jurisdiction for any tort committed in violation of customary international law, Sosa sharply circumscribed the availability of private causes of action that are cognizable in federal courts under § 1350. Not all international law norms provide a common law cause of action under § 1350 — to be actionable, it must be a well-defined and universally recognized norm of international law. As explained by the Court, “the ATS was meant to underwrite litigation of a narrow set of common law actions derived from the law of nations.” Sosa, 542 U.S. at 721, 124 S.Ct. 2739. In determining the scope of this “narrow set” of actions, courts must engage in a two-part analysis: “courts should require any claim based on the present-day law of nations to rest on [1] a norm of international character accepted by the civilized world and [2] defined with a specificity comparable to the features of the 18th-century paradigms we have recognized” — that is, the three common law international law wrongs identified by Blackstone, “violation of safe conducts, infringement of the rights of ambassadors, and piracy.” Id. at 725-26, 124 S.Ct. 2739. The Court added that federal courts “have no congressional mandate to seek out and define new and debatable violations of the law of nations,” id. at 728, 124 S.Ct. 2739, and firmly cautioned that “federal courts should not recognize private claims under federal common law for violations of any international law norm with less definite content and acceptance among civilized nations than the historical paradigms familiar when § 1350 was enacted.” Id. at 732, 124 S.Ct. 2739. In a footnote, the Court noted that “[a] related consideration is whether international law extends the scope of liability for a violation of a given norm to the perpetrator being sued, if the defendant is a private actor such as a corporation or individual.” Id. at 732 n. 20,124 S.Ct. 2739. 2. SOURCES OF INTERNATIONAL LAW With these basic rules in mind, it is important to have a clear understanding of the sources of international law upon which courts must rely in determining whether a particular norm is universally accepted and defined with the requisite specificity. As explained in The Paquete Habana, 175 U.S. 677, 700, 20 S.Ct. 290, 44 L.Ed. 320 (1900) (cited in Sosa, 542 U.S. at 734, 124 S.Ct. 2739), “international law is part of our law,” and courts should look to the following sources for guidance: where there is no treaty and no controlling executive or legislative act or judicial decision, resort must be had to the customs and usages of civilized nations, and, as evidence of these, to the works of jurists and commentators who by years of labor, research, and experience have made themselves peculiarly well acquainted with the subjects of which they treat. Such works are resorted to by judicial tribunals, not for the speculations of their authors concerning what the law ought to be, but for trustworthy evidence of what the law really is. The Paquete Habana, 175 U.S. at 700, 20 S.Ct. 290 (citing Hilton v. Guyot, 159 U.S. 113, 163, 164, 214, 215, 16 S.Ct. 139, 40 L.Ed. 95 (1895)). The Court also stated that international law norms must be agreed upon “by the general consent of the civilized nations of the world,” id. at 708, 20 S.Ct. 290, or, as phrased in international law, opinio jwris. The approach set out in The Paquete Habana is consistent with the modern view of customary international law. As stated in the Statute of the International Court of Justice (the authoritative institution in adjudicating international law), the sources of international law are: a. international conventions, whether general or particular, establishing rules expressly recognized by the contesting states; b. international custom, as evidence of a general practice accepted as law; c. the general principles of law recognized by civilized nations; d. subject to the provisions of Article 59, judicial decisions an the teachings of the most highly qualified publicists of the various nations, as subsidiary means for the determination of rules of law. ICJ Statute, June 26, 1945, art. 38(1), 59 Stat. 1055,1060, U.S.T.S. 993. In practice, this requires an exhaustive examination of treaties, court decisions, and leading treatises. As a model example, the Supreme Court in Sosa, 542 U.S. at 732, 124 S.Ct. 2739, referred to the lengthy, polyglot footnote in United States v. Smith, 18 U.S. (5 Wheat.) 153, 5 L.Ed. 57 (1820). The Smith Court examined over a dozen treatises in English, Latin, French, and Spanish, as well as English caselaw, and determined that these various sources all agreed upon the same basic definition of piracy under international law. Smith, 18 U.S. at 163-80 n. h. 3. INTERNATIONAL LAW CAUSES OF ACTION AFTER SOSA Ultimately, Sosa provides that international law norms are only actionable if they are specifically defined and universally adhered to out of a sense of mutual obligation. Other courts, quoted in Sosa, 542 U.S. at 732, 124 S.Ct. 2739, have explained that this requires a showing that the violation is one of a “handful of heinous actions,” Tel-Oren v. Libyan Arab Republic, 726 F.2d 774, 781 (D.C.Cir.1984) (Edwards, J., concurring), involving a norm that is “specific, universal, and obligatory,” In re Estate of Marcos Human Rights Litigation, 25 F.3d 1467, 1475 (9th Cir. 1994), resulting in a finding that the actor is “hostis humani generis, an enemy of all mankind.” Filartiga v. Pena-Irala, 630 F.2d 876, 890 (2d Cir.1980). In defining the relevant norms of international law, domestic courts should carefully distinguish the substance of international law from the procedures of international law. See Sosa, 542 U.S. at 729-30 & n. 18, 124 S.Ct. 2739 (referring to Erie R. Co. v. Tompkins, 304 U.S. 64, 58 S.Ct. 817, 82 L.Ed. 1188 (1938), and discussing Alien Tort Statute as incorporating “substantive rules” of international law). For example, the Ninth Circuit’s lead en banc opinion in Sarei v. Rio Tinto, addressing the issue of exhaustion of remedies, noted that Sosa requires an inquiry into “whether exhaustion is a substantive norm of international law, to which the ‘requirement of clear definition’ applies; or if it is nonsubstantive, what source of law — federal common law or international law — illuminates its content.” Sarei v. Rio Tinto, PLC, 550 F.3d 822, 828 (9th Cir. 2008) (en banc) (internal footnote and citations omitted). In other words, courts applying the Alien Tort Statute must determine whether the rule at issue is substantive or non-substantive (i.e., procedural), and then must determine whether that substantive international law is sufficiently definite and universal to satisfy the requirements of Sosa. In distinguishing between the substance and procedure of international law, it is helpful to consider the guidelines set out by a leading expert on international criminal law. According to M. Cherif Bassiouni, who is among the most prolific and prominent authorities on international criminal law, “the penal aspects of international [criminal] law include: international crimes, elements of international criminal responsibility, the procedural aspects of the ‘direct enforcement system’ of international criminal law, and certain aspects of the enforcement modalities of the ‘indirect enforcement system’ of the International Criminal Court.” M. Cherif Bassiouni, 1 International Criminal Law 5 (2008). Customary international law defines the substantive elements of the crimes and the elements of criminal responsibility, whereas the procedural enforcement mechanisms are established largely on a case-by-case basis in response to particular atrocities (though today, the International Criminal Court is meant to provide a permanent forum for enforcement actions). Id at 7-8. The Supreme Court in Sosa instructed federal courts to look to the substantive aspects of international law, not the procedural details of particular international law enforcement mechanisms. Because the Alien Tort Statute itself provides an independent domestic enforcement mechanism, federal courts should not be distracted by the procedural quirks of foreign and international legal systems. Federal courts must be careful to apply only substantive international law — that is, the elements of the criminal acts and the nature of criminal responsibility — rather than the procedural elements of international law. See Bassiouni, 1 International Criminal Law at 5-8. It is important for courts to apply international law with a careful eye on its substantive provisions, as Sosa repeatedly insisted that only clearly defined, universally recognized norms are actionable under the Alien Tort Statute. Though courts must look to various sources to determine the scope of international law, courts should not just “pick and choose from this seemingly limitless menu of sources” and create a hybrid form of domestic common law that merely draws on customary international law when convenient. See Abdullahi v. Pfizer, Inc., 562 F.3d 163, 194 (2d Cir.2009) (Wesley, J., dissenting), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 130 S.Ct. 3541, 177 L.Ed.2d 1121 (2010). The Alien Tort Statute, as interpreted in Sosa, does not permit federal courts to codify a new form of what International Court of Justice Judge Philip Jessup termed “transnational law,” which, as he explained, “includes both civil and criminal aspects, [ ] includes what we know as public and private international law, and [ ] includes national law both public and private.” Philip Jessup, Transnational Law 106 (1956). Jessup justified his proposed legal mélange on the ground that “[tjhere is no inherent reason why a judicial tribunal, whether national or international, should not be authorized to choose from all these bodies of law the rule considered to be most in conformity with reason and justice for the solution of any particular controversy.” Id. But, as made abundantly clear in Sosa, such an idealized and ungrounded form of international law is not a permissible source of authority for Alien Tort Statute cases. Sosa requires that federal courts cannot look to general principles of “reason and justice” drawn ad hoc from international and domestic rules; rather, courts must look carefully to the substantive norms of international law that are clearly defined and universally agreed-upon. To do otherwise is to misapply Sosa and “open the door” far too wide for Alien Tort Statute litigation. Sosa, 542 U.S. at 729, 124 S.Ct. 2739 (“[T]he judicial power should be exercised on the understanding that the door is still ajar subject to vigilant doorkeeping, and thus open to a narrow class of international norms today.”). B. THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN CIVIL AND CRIMINAL INTERNATIONAL LAW NORMS In its June 9, 2009 Order for further briefing, the Court requested that the parties address the question of whether the standards for liability under international law distinguish between civil and criminal causes of action. In particular, the Court was concerned with whether Sosa requires international law to establish well-defined norms of civil liability in order for an Alien Tort Statute action to lie. In light of this briefing, the Court has reached the following conclusions. There is no meaningful distinction in Alien Tort State litigation between criminal and civil norms of international law. See, e.g., Presbyterian Church of Sudan v. Talisman Energy, Inc., 582 F.3d 244, 257 n. 7 (2d Cir.2009) (citations omitted), pet’n for cert. filed, Apr. 15, 2010, May 20, 2010; Khulumani v. Barclay Nat. Bank Ltd., 504 F.3d 254, 270 n. 5 (2d Cir.2007) (Katzmann, J., concurring) (citations omitted). This is supported by the Sosa opinion, by the historical materials relevant to the Sosa Court’s construction of the Alien Tort Statute, and by Justice Breyer’s concurrence in Sosa. The majority opinion in Sosa pointedly quoted the proposition from international scholar Beth Stephens that a “mixed approach to international law violations, encompassing both criminal prosecution ... and compensation to those injured through a civil suit, would have been familiar to the founding generation.” Sosa, 542 U.S. at 724, 124 S.Ct. 2739 (quoting Beth Stephens, Individuals Enforcing International Law: The Comparative and Historical Context, 52 DePaul L. Rev. 433, 444 (2002)). In other words, the Court suggested that international criminal law at the time of the founding also contained a civil component. This conclusion is supported by an examination of Blackstone, upon whom the Sosa Court relied heavily. Notably, Blackstone discussed the three “common law” international law violations (piracy, offenses on the high seas, and offenses against ambassadors) as being criminal offenses rather than civil offenses. Blackstone did not suggest that these offenses could be redressed through common-law civil actions. See Blackstone, 4 Commentaries, Ch. 5; see also Sosa, 542 U.S. at 723, 124 S.Ct. 2739 (“It is true that Blackstone [ ] referred] to what he deemed the three principal offenses against the law of nations in the course of discussing criminal sanctions.”) (emphasis added). However, Blackstone did explain that violations of an ambassador’s safe-conduct were subject to statutory restitution. See Blackstone, 4 Commentaries, Ch. 5 (“if any of the king’s subjects attempt or offend, upon the sea, or in port within the king’s obeisance, against any stranger in amity, league, or under safe-conduct; and especially by attaching his person, or spoiling him, or robbing him of his goods; the lord chancellor, with any of the justices of either the king’s bench or common pleas, may cause full restitution and amends to be made to the injured.”) (emphasis added) (citing Statute of 31 Hen. VI., ch. 4). As the Supreme Court recognized in Sosa, the Alien Tort Statute requires that federal courts provide civil redress for these criminal offenses. Sosa, 542 U.S. at 724, 124 S.Ct. 2739 (“We think it is correct ... to assume that the First Congress understood that the district courts would recognize private causes of action for ... torts corresponding to Blackstone’s three primary offenses.”). If we are to use Blackstone’s treatise as the lodestar of Alien Tort Statute analysis (as the Supreme Court did in Sosa), then we must necessarily conclude that the Alien Tort Statute exists precisely for the purpose of providing civil redress to victims of violations of international criminal law. See generally Jaykumar A. Menon, The Alien Tort Statute: Blackstone and Criminal/Tort Law Hybridities, 4 J. Int’l Crim. Just. 372 (2006) (discussing implications of Alien Tort Statute’s status as a hybrid of criminal law and tort law). Justice Breyer went further than the Sosa majority in discussing the relationship between international criminal law and civil causes of action. He noted that criminal punishment contains an element of restitution in many legal systems. Sosa, 542 U.S. at 762-63, 124 S.Ct. 2739 (Breyer, J., concurring). Notably, the International Criminal Court provides for reparations and restitution as part of its jurisdiction over international criminal law. See Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, July 17, 1998, 2187 U.N.T.S. 90, at arts. 75(2) (“The Court may make an order directly against a convicted person specifying appropriate reparations to, or in respect of, victims, including restitution, compensation and rehabilitation.”), 77(2)(b) (“In addition to imprisonment, the Court may order ... [a] forfeiture of proceeds, property and assets derived directly or indirectly from that crime, without prejudice to the rights of bona fide third parties.”). In short, even in the absence of a universally recognized civil cause of action that exists under international law, the Alien Tort Statute provides a domestic civil cause of action which incorporates the universally recognized norms of international law, regardless of whether they are criminal or civil. To hold otherwise would render Sosa’s references to Blackstone superfluous and, indeed, would cause the entire foundation of the Alien Tort Statute to crumble, given that there is no universally recognized norm of private civil liability for international law violations. See generally Christine Gray, Judicial Remedies in International Law (1987) (noting, inter alia, that international law traditionally provides only for reparations between states, not private civil remedies). Accordingly, the Court concludes that the Alien Tort Statute provides a civil cause of action for international law violations even if international law itself does not clearly recognize a civil cause of action for violations of that norm. V. THE ALLEGED PRIMARY VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW Plaintiffs allege that Cote d’Ivoire farmers are responsible for the following violations of Plaintiffs’ rights under international law. Plaintiffs further allege that Defendants have aided and abetted these violations. Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss is aimed at the adequacy of Plaintiffs’ allegations of aiding and abetting. Because the Motion is not directed at the underlying primary violations of international law (i.e., the conduct of the Ivorian farmers), the Court assumes for purposes of this Order that Plaintiffs have adequately alleged primary violations of the following norms. The Court summarizes the applicable facts and legal standards in order to provide context for the discussion of Defendants’ contribution (or lack thereof) to those violations. It is helpful to thoroughly examine the details of the alleged primary violation pri- or to addressing the parties’ arguments regarding secondary liability. A. FORCED LABOR [11] It is widely acknowledged that the use of forced labor violates international law. See Adhikari v. Daoud & Partners, 697 F.Supp.2d 674, 687 (S.D.Tex.2009) (“trafficking and forced labor ... qualify as universal international norms under Sosa ”); John Roe I v. Bridgestone Corp., 492 F.Supp.2d 988, 1014 (S.D.Ind.2007) (“some forms of forced labor violate the law of nations”); Jane Doe I v. Reddy, No. C 02-05570 WHA, 2003 WL 23893010, at *9 (N.D.Cal. Aug. 4, 2003) (“forced labor ... is prohibited under the law of nations); Iwanowa v. Ford Motor Co., 67 F.Supp.2d 424, 441 (D.N.J.1999) (“[T]he case law and statements of the Nuremberg Tribunals unequivocally establish that forced labor violates customary international law.”); see also In re World War II Era Japanese Forced Labor Litig., 164 F.Supp.2d 1160, 1179 (N.D.Cal.2001) (“this court is inclined to agree with the Iwanowa court’s conclusion that forced labor violates the law of nations”). For present purposes, the Court adopts the definition of “forced labor” supplied by the International Labour Organization Forced Labor Convention of 1930: “all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily.” International Labour Organization Convention No. 29 Concerning Forced or Compulsory Labor, art. 2., 39 U.N.T.S. 55, entered into force, May 1, 1932. More thorough definitions may be found in the treaties and conventions identified in the Complaint (FAC ¶ 63), in the expert declaration of Lee Swepston [docket no. 93], and in the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000. There are various examples of forced labor cases being brought under the Alien Tort Statute (many of which, it should be noted, predate Sosa). In one case, the district court held that the plaintiffs’ allegations were insufficient to state a claim under international law where: John Roe I v. Bridgestone Corp., 492 F.Supp.2d 988, 1014 (S.D.Ind.2007). Plaintiffs allege that they have nothing left after they spend their wages at [the defendant’s] company stores and other company facilities (such as schools), but they do not allege induced indebtedness. Plaintiffs allege that they are physically isolated at the Plantation, but they do not allege that [the defendant] keeps them physically confined there. To the extent plaintiffs allege psychological compulsion, they are clearly alleging what the [International Labor Organization] report calls “pure economic necessity, as when a worker feels unable to leave a job because of the real or perceived absence of employment alternatives,” which is not forced labor under international law. In another case, the allegations were sufficient where the plaintiffs alleged that they “were brought to the United States and forced to work involuntarily!,] and [that] defendants reinforced their coercive conduct through threats, physical beatings, sexual battery, fraud and unlawful substandard working conditions.” Jane Doe I v. Reddy, 2003 WL 23893010, at *9. Similarly, in Licea v. Curacao Drydock Co., Inc., 584 F.Supp.2d 1355 (S.D.Fla.2008), the plaintiffs established that they were forced to work on oil platforms after having been trafficked from Cuba to Curacao under threats of physical and emotional harm. In the present case, Plaintiffs allege that they were forced to labor on cocoa fields. (FAC ¶¶ 57-59.) At least one Plaintiff (John Doe I) alleges that he was trafficked from Mali to Cote d’Ivoire. (FAC ¶ 57.) All three Plaintiffs were locked on their respective farms and plantations and monitored at night by guards armed with guns and whips. (FAC ¶¶ 57-59.) They were subjected to physical violence and related psychological abuse that had the effect of forcing them to work and remain on the farms. (FAC ¶¶ 57-59.) They were threatened with severe beatings from whips and tree branches, being forced to drink urine, and having their feet cut open. (Id.) They were not paid for their work, were given inadequate amounts of food, and were forced to sleep in groups in locked rooms, and at least one plaintiff was forced to sleep on the floor. (Id.) Because Defendants have not disputed that adequacy of these allegations, the Court concludes for present purposes that these allegations are sufficient constitute forced labor under international law. B. CHILD LABOR It is clear that in some instances “child labor” constitutes a violation of an international law norm that is specific, universal, and well-defined. “Yet whatever one’s initial reaction is to the broad phrase ‘child labor,’ reflection shows that national and international norms accommodate a host of different situations and balance competing values and policies.... It is not always easy to state just which practices under the label ‘child labor’ are the subjects of an international consensus.” John Roe I v. Bridgestone, 492 F.Supp.2d at 1020. Plaintiffs submit an expert declaration from a former member of the International Labour Organization, Lee Swepston. [Docket no. 93.] Swepston’s declaration reveals that the definitional concerns identified by the John Roe I v. Bridgestone court apply with equal force in the present case. Nevertheless, for present purposes, the Court assumes that the allegations in the First Amended Complaint are analogous to the allegations at issue in John Roe I v. Bridgestone, a case involving allegations of forced labor and child labor on a Liberian rubber plantation: [T]he Complaint states that defendants are actively encouraging — even tacitly requiring — the employment of six, seven, and ten year old children. Giving plaintiffs the benefit of their factual allegations, the defendants are actively encouraging that these very young children perform back-breaking work that exposes them to dangerous chemicals and tools. The work, plaintiffs allege, also keeps those children out of the [company-provided] schools. The court understands that defendants deny the allegations, but defendants have chosen to file a motion that requires the court to accept those allegations as true, at least for now. [¶] The circumstances alleged here include at least some practices that could therefore fall within the “worst forms of child labor” addressed in ILO Convention 182. The conditions of work alleged by plaintiffs (and reported by the UN investigators) are likely to harm the health and safety of at least the very youngest of the child plaintiffs in this case. John Roe I v. Bridgestone Corp., 492 F.Supp.2d at 1021. The plaintiffs in the present case allege that they were forced to work “cutting, gathering, and drying” cocoa beans for twelve to fourteen hours a day, six days a week. (FAC ¶¶ 57-59.) The plaintiffs were between twelve and fourteen years old at the time they first began working at the farms. (Id.) Because Defendants have not disputed the adequacy of these allegations, the Court assumes for present purposes that Plaintiffs’ allegations establish violations of universal, well-defined international law norms prohibiting child labor. C. TORTURE Torture is a well-established norm of international law that is actionable under the Alien Tort Statute. See In re Marcos Human Rights Litig., 25 F.3d 1467, 1475 (9th Cir.1994) (collecting authorities); Filartiga v. Pena-Irala, 630 F.2d 876, 880-84 (2d Cir.1980); see also Sosa, 542 U.S. at 732, 124 S.Ct. 2739 (citing those cases with approval). A helpful working definition of “torture” can be found in the Torture Victim Protection Act: the term ‘torture’ means any act, directed against an individual in the offender’s custody or physical control, by which severe pain or suffering (other than pain or suffering arising only from or inherent in, or incidental to, lawful sanctions), whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on that individual for such purposes as obtaining from that individual or a third person information or a confession, punishing that individual for an act that individual or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, intimidating or coercing that individual or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind[.] Torture Victim Protection Act, Pub. L. 102-256, 106 Stat. 73 (1992), § 3(b)(1), reprinted in 28 U.S.C.A. § 1350 note. In addition, the Torture Victim Protection Act contains a state-action requirement, such that liability only exists if the act of torture is done “under actual or apparent authority, or color of law, of any foreign nation.” Id. at § 2(a)(1). Plaintiffs allege that they were severely beaten and/or threatened with severe beatings in order to prevent them from leaving the cocoa plantations. Plaintiffs also allege that they were given inadequate food, were forced to sleep in tightly-packed locked rooms, and were threatened with being forced to drink urine. (FAC ¶¶ 57-59.) The Court will assume for purposes of this motion that these allegations are sufficient to state the basic elements of torture: “severe pain or suffering” was “intentionally inflicted on” Plaintiffs for the “purposes” of “punishing” Plaintiffs for acts that Plaintiffs committed, and/or for the “purposes” of “intimidating or coercing” Plaintiffs. Allegations of severe beatings, extended confinements, and deprivation of food—causing both physical and mental injury—generally constitute torture. See, e.g., Doe v. Qi, 349 F.Supp.2d 1258, 1267-70, 1314-18 (N.D.Cal.2004) (collecting cases). To the extent that the international law definition of torture contains additional requirements (most importantly, the state-action requirement), the Court discusses these issues at greater length infra. D. CRUEL, INHUMAN, AND DEGRADING TREATMENT “Cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment is defined as acts which inflict mental or physical suffering, anguish, humiliation, fear and debasement, which fall short of torture.” Sarei v. Rio Tinto PLC, 650 F.Supp.2d 1004, 1029 (C.D.Cal.2009) (quoting Aldana v. Del Monte Fresh Produce, N.A., Inc., 452 F.3d 1284, 1285 n. 1 (11th Cir.2006) (Barkett, J., dissenting)), appeal pending, Nos. 02-56256, 02-56390, 09-56381 (9th Cir.). “The principal difference between torture and [cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment] is ‘the intensity of the suffering inflicted.’ ” Id. (quoting Restatement (Third) of Foreign Relations, § 702 n. 5). The prevailing view in the caselaw is that “cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment” generally constitutes an actionable international law norm under Sosa. See, e.g., Sarei, 650 F.Supp.2d at 1028-29 (collecting cases). However, as with child labor, there is a general consensus that only some types of activities constitute cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment; and the central question is whether the “specific conduct at issue” fits within that core norm. Id. at 1029-30 (“Because multiple elements of plaintiffs’ CIDT claim do not involve conduct that has been universally condemned as cruel, inhuman, or degrading, the court concludes that the specific CIDT claim plaintiffs assert does not exclusively involve matters of universal concern.”); Bowoto, 557 F.Supp.2d at 1093-94; John Roe I v. Bridgestone, 492 F.Supp.2d at 1023-24 (recognizing cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment as actionable norm under customary international law, but holding that “exploitative labor practices” do not violate those norms); Doe v. Qi 349 F.Supp.2d at 1321-25. As with the allegations of torture, the Court assumes for purposes of this Order that Plaintiffs have adequately alleged cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment with respect to Defendants’ alleged severe beatings, extended confinements, and deprivation of food. VI. LEGAL STANDARD REGARDING LIABILITY FOR AIDING AND ABETTING VIOLATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW A. INTRODUCTION There is an extensive body of precedent supporting aiding and abetting-liability for violations of international law. Aiding and abetting liability is prominent in the Nuremberg Tribunals, the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda (hereinafter “ICTY” and “ICTR”), and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. See Khulumani v. Barclay Nat. Bank Ltd., 504 F.3d 254, 270 (2d Cir.2007) (Katzmann, J., concurring) (“the individual responsibility of a defendant who aids and abets a violation of international law ... has been frequently invoked in international law instruments as an accepted mode of liability [and] has been repeatedly recognized in numerous international treaties.”). International conventions such as the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery require the punishment of aiders and abetters. See Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery, Sept. 7, 1956, 18 U.S.T. 3201, 226 U.N.T.S. 3. Similarly, domestic criminal law provides for aiding and abetting liability, see 18 U.S.C. § 2, and has done so for centuries with respect to aiding and abetting particular violations of international law such as piracy. There is little doubt, then, that certain Alien Tort Statute defendants may potentially be held liable under an aiding and abetting theory of liability. B. WHICH SOURCE OF LAW TO APPLY? The key question is whether to examine domestic law or international law to derive the proper legal standard for determining aiding and abetting liability. Plaintiffs assert that the proper source of aiding and abetting liability is domestic law. Defendants assert that international law is the proper source. Ultimately, the Court agrees with and adopts the Second Circuit’s resolution of this question: international law provides the appropriate definition of aiding and abetting liability. See Presbyterian Church of Sudan v. Talisman Energy, Inc., 582 F.3d 244, 258-59 (2d Cir.2009) (discussing Khulumani v. Barclay Nat. Bank Ltd., 504 F.3d 254 (2d Cir.2007)). The central principles are as follows. The Supreme Court in Sosa repeatedly insisted that United States courts must follow international law in defining the nature of violative acts and the scope of liability. See, e.g., Sosa, 542 U.S. at 732, 124 S.Ct. 2739 (“federal courts should not recognize private claims under federal common law for violations of any international law norm with less definite content and acceptance among civilized nations than the historical paradigms familiar when § 1350 was enacted.”). Though Plaintiffs argue that federal law should be used to fill the gaps where international law is silent, it is clear that international law provides sufficiently well-established norms of secondary liability to satisfy Sosa’s requirement of norms containing “definite content [that are] accepted] among civilized nations.” See id. There is simply no reason to alter the well-defined scope of international law by introducing domestic law into the Alien Tort Statute. It is clear from the authorities identified by the parties and discussed at greater length infra that international law recognizes aiding and abetting liability. Because the act of aiding and abetting a human rights violation constitutes an independent violation of international law, the Court concludes that international law is the appropriate source of law under Sosa. C. WHAT IS THE SCOPE OF AIDING AND ABETTING LIABILITY UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW? There is little doubt that aiding and abetting liability is a part of international law. Aiding and abetting liability is prominent in the Nuremberg Tribunals, the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and the Statute of the International Criminal Court. See generally Khulumani, 504 F.3d at 270 (Katzmann, J., concurring). Although there are various formulations of the proper standard of aiding and abetting liability in international law, it is important to remember Sosa’s instruction that norms are only actionable if they are universally recognized and defined with specificity. For example, as noted by Justice Story in United States v. Smith, 18 U.S. 153, 161, 5 Wheat. 153, 5 L.Ed. 57 (1820), “whatever may be the diversity of definitions, ... all writers concur, in holding, that robbery or forcible depredations upon the sea, animo furandi [with the intention to steal] is piracy.” In other words, where there are a variety of formulations, the court should look to the formulation that is agreed upon by all' — a lowest common denominator or a common “core definition” of the norm. See Khulumani, 504 F.3d at 277 n. 12 (Katzmann, J., concurring). This approach has been adopted by the Ninth Circuit in Abagninin v. AMVAC Chem. Corp., 545 F.3d 733, 738-40 (9th Cir.2008), which concluded that customary international law imposes a specific intent standard for genocide, despite an alternative “knowledge” standard established by one particular treaty. In addition, this lowest common denominator approach has been adopted by other federal courts dealing with the question of aiding and abetting liability. See Presbyterian Church of Sudan, 582 F.3d at 259 (concluding that the relevant “standard has been largely upheld in the modern era, with only sporadic forays in the direction of a [different] standard.”). 1. ACTUS REUS With respect to the actus reus element of the violation, the Court, having examined the applicable authorities, believes that the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia has accurately and concisely restated the governing international law rule: an aider and abettor carries out acts specifically directed to assist, encourage, or lend moral support to the perpetration of a certain specific crime, which have a substantial effect on the perpetration of the crime. The actus reus need not serve as condition precedent for the crime and may occur before, during, or after the principal crime has been perpetrated. Prosecutor v. Blagojevic, No. IT-02-60-A, at ¶ 127 (ICTY Appeals Chamber, May 9, 2007) (collecting cases) (citations and footnotes omitted, emphasis added), available at http://www.icty.Org/x/cases/blagoj evic_ jokic/acjug/en/blajok-jud070509.pdf. This formulation requires that the defendant must do something more than “[a]iding a criminal” generally — the defendant must aid the commission of a specific crime. As other District Courts have aptly explained, “[a]iding a criminal ‘is not the same thing as aiding and abetting his or her alleged human rights abuses.’ ” In re South African Apartheid Litig., 617 F.Supp.2d 228, 257 (S.D.N.Y.2009) (emphasis added) (quoting Mastafa v. Australian Wheat Bd. Ltd., No. 07 Civ. 7955(GEL), 2008 WL 4378443, at *3 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 25, 2008)). In other words, the aider and abettor’s assistance must bear a causative relationship to the specific wrongful conduct committed by the principal. Id. The assistance need not necessarily constitute a “but-for” cause or conditio sine qua non, but it must have an actual effect on the principal’s criminal act. Id. This definition of the actus reus standard is consistent with the caselaw summarized infra and, notably, retains a meaningful and clear distinction between aiding and abetting liability and conspiracy/,] oint criminal enterprise liability. As explained by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the distinctions between aiding and abetting and joint criminal enterprise are as follows: Participation in a joint criminal enterprise is a form of “commission” [of a crime] under Article 7(1) of the [ICTY] Statute. The participant therein is liable as a co-perpetrator of the crime(s). Aiding and abetting the commission of a crime is usually considered to incur a lesser degree of individual criminal responsibility than committing a crime. In the context of a crime committed by several co-perpetrators in a joint criminal enterprise, the aider and abettor is always an accessory to these co-perpetrators, although the co-perpetrators may not even know of the aider and abettor’s contribution. Differences exist in relation to the actus reus as well as to the mens rea requirements between both forms of individual criminal responsibility: (i) The aider and abettor carries out acts specifically directed to assist, encourage or lend moral support to the perpetration of a certain specific crime (murder, extermination, rape, torture, wanton destruction of civilian property, etc.), and this support has a substantial effect upon the perpetration of the crime. By contrast, it is sufficient for a participant in a joint criminal enterprise to perform acts that in some way are directed to the furtherance of the common design. (ii) In the case of aiding and abetting, the requisite mental element is knowledge that the acts performed by the aider and abettor assist the commission of the specific crime of the principal. By contrast, in the case of participation in a joint criminal enterprise, i.e. as a co-perpetrator, the requisite mens rea is intent to pursue a common purpose. Vasiljevic, 2004 WL 2781932, at ¶ 102. In other words, the aider and abettor must do something more than commit acts that “in some way” tenuously “further[ ] ... the common design” of a criminal organization; that actus reus standard applies only to co-conspirators who knowingly and actively join in the criminal conspiracy and share its criminal purpose. To establish aiding and abetting liability, generalized assistance is not enough: the assistance must be “specifically directed” — i.e., bear a direct causative relationship — to a specific wrongful act, and the assistance must have a substantial effect on that wrongful act. Blagojevic, at ¶ 127. This aiding and abetting actus reus standard necessarily “requires a fact-based inquiry” that is context-specific. See id. at ¶ 134. However, one important issue must be noted at the outset of the discussion. There is a great deal of uncertainty about the actus reus of “tacit approval and eneouragement” — a theory of liability that, according to Plaintiffs, dates back to Nuremberg-era precedents such as The Synagogue Case and United States v. Ohlendorf (“The Einsatzgruppen Case"), in 4 Trials of War Criminals Before the Nuremberg Military Tribunals Under Control Council Law No. 10 (“T.W.C.”), at 570-72 (William S. Hein & Co., Inc. 1997). To the extent this form of liability even exists, the modern caselaw supports liability only where the defendant has “a combination of a position of authority and physical presence at the crime scene[, which] allows the inference that non-interference by the accused actually amounted to tacit approval and encouragement.” Prosecutor v. Oric, No. IT-03-68-A, at ¶42 (ICTY Appeals Chamber, July 3, 2008), available at 2008 WL 6930198. As with all aiding and abetting, it must be shown that the encouragement was “substantial” — which necessarily requires that the “principal perpetrators [were] aware of it,” because otherwise, the support and encouragement would not have had any effect (let alone a substantial one) on the principal offense. Prosecutor v. Brdjanin, No. IT-99-36-A, at ¶ 277 (ICTY Appeals Chamber, April 3 2007), available at 2007 WL 1826003. The specific situations in which courts have imposed such liability are identified infra. 2. MENS REA The Court is aware that there is an ongoing debate among courts, litigants, and commentators regarding the proper definition of aiding and abetting liability. See, e.g., Pet’n for Writ of Cert., Presbyterian Church of Sudan v. Talisman Energy, Inc., No. 09-1262, 2010 WL 1602093, at *27-33 (Apr. 15, 2010) (collecting cases). The Court concurs with the five judges on the Second Circuit who have concluded that the appropriate mens rea for aiding and abetting violations of international law requires that the defendant act with “the purpose of facilitating the commission of that crime.” Khulumani, 504 F.3d at 277 (Katzmann, J., concurring); see also Presbyterian Church of Sudan, 582 F.3d at 259 (adopting Judge Katzmann’s formulation); Khulumani, 504 F.3d at 332-33 (Korman, J., concurring in relevant part). As the Second Circuit explained in its recent Presbyterian Church of Sudan decision, a plaintiff must show that the defendant acted with “purpose rather than knowledge alone” because only a “purpose” standard “has the requisite ‘acceptance among civilized nations’ ” to satisfy Sosa’s stringent requirements. Presbyterian Church of Sudan, 582 F.3d at 259 (quoting Sosa, 542 U.S. at 732, 124 S.Ct. 2739). The less-stringent “knowledge” standard, although it has often been invoked, has not obtained universal recognition and acceptance. See generally Prosecutor v. Furundzija, IT-95-17/1-T, at ¶¶ 190-249 (ICTY Trial Chamber, Dec. 10, 1998) (surveying international caselaw and adopting “knowledge” mens rea standard), reprinted in 38 I.L.M. 317 (1999), affd, No. IT-95-17/1-A (ICTY Appeals Chamber, July 21, 2000), available at 2000 WL 34467822. As such, the “knowledge” standard is an improper basis for bringing an Alien Tort Statute action. However, to the extent that a “knowledge” mens rea standard applies (a conclusion that the Court rejects), the Court believes that the proper articulation of the aiding and abetting standard would be the formulation adopted by the Appeals Chambers of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda: “the requisite mental element of aiding and abetting is knowledge that the acts performed assist the commission of the specific crime of the principal perpetrator.” Blagojevic, at ¶ 127 (collecting cases) (citations and footnotes omitted, emphasis added); see also Prosecutor v. Ntagerura, No. ICTR-99-46-A, at ¶ 370 (ICTR Appeals Chamber, July 2006) (same), available at 2006 WL 4724776; Prosecutor v. Blaskic, No. IT-95-14-A, at ¶ 45 (ICTY Appeals Chamber, July 2004) (same), available at 2004 WL 2781930; Prosecutor v. Vasiljevic, No. IT-98-32-A, at ¶ 102 (ICTY Appeals Chamber, Feb. 25, 2004) (same), available at 2004 WL 2781932. To the extent that the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda have occasionally adopted a less stringent standard, see, e.g., Mrksic, at ¶ 159; Furundzija, 38 I.L.M. 317 at ¶249, the Court believes that the standard articulated in Blagojevic, Ntagerura, Blaskic, and Vasiljevic best reflects the relevant caselaw discussed infra. Accordingly, to the extent that the “purpose” specific intent mens rea standard does not apply and a “knowledge” general intent mens rea standard does apply, the Court would apply the dominant approach taken in the recent international appellate tribunal decisions. This approach requires that the aider and abettor must know or have reason to know of the relationship between his conduct and the wrongful acts. See Oric, 2008 WL 6930198, at ¶ 45. It is not enough, as explained by the Oric appeals tribunal, that the aider and abetter knew or had reason to know that crimes were being committed — the aider and abetter must know or have reason to know that his own acts or omissions “assisted in the crimes.” Id. at ¶¶ 43, 45 & n. 104. That said, the Court concludes that the “purpose” mens rea standard is the proper standard to use in Alien Tort Statute litigation. The less-stringent “knowledge” standard that was originally synthesized by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in Furundzija rests on a number of premises that, while perhaps acceptable under that Tribunal’s enacting authority, fail to satisfy the requirements set forth by the Supreme Court in Sosa. The appropriateness of the “purpose” standard is supported by the following authorities. As an initial matter, it is particularly notable that the International Court of Justice — the central expositor of international law, see Restatement (Third) of Foreign Relations, § 103 cmt. (b) (“The judgments and opinions of the International Court of Justice are accorded great weight”) — recently declined to decide whether the crime of aiding and abetting genocide requires that the aider and abettor share the perpetrator’s criminal intent or merely know of the perpetrator’s criminal intent. Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro), 2007 I.C.J. No. 91, at ¶ 421 (“the question arises whether complicity presupposes that the accomplice shares the specific intent (dolus specialis) of the principal perpetrator”), available at http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/ flles/91/13685.pdf. The fact that the International Court of Justice refrained from addressing this question supports the conclusion that the appropriate definition remains subject to reasonable debate. In light of Sosa, any d