Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group.

While precise definition varies among genocide scholars, a legal definition is found in the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. This is a list of scholarly and international legal definitions of Genocide, a word coined by Raphael Lemkin in 1944 Law is a system of rules enforced through a set of Institutions used as an instrument to underpin civil obedience politics economics and society The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1948 and came into effect in January 1951 Article 2, of this convention defines genocide as "any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life, calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; [and] forcibly transferring children of the group to another group. A nation is a Human Cultural and Social Community. In as much as most members never meet each other yet feel a common bond it may be considered The term race or racial group usually refers to the concept of categorizing Humans into Populations or groups on the basis of various sets A religion is a set of Tenets and practices often centered upon specific Supernatural and moral claims about Reality, the Cosmos "^[1]

Coining of the term genocide

The term "genocide" was coined by Raphael Lemkin (1900–1959), a Polish-Jewish legal scholar, in 1943, firstly from the Greek root génos (γένος) (family, tribe or race - gene); secondly from Latin -cide (occido—to massacre, kill). Raphael Lemkin ( June 24, 1900 – August 28, 1959) was a Lawyer of Polish - Jewish descent The Polish people, or Poles, (Polacy) are a Western Slavic Ethnic group of Central Europe, living predominantly in Poland. PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome.

In Noah 1933, Lemkin prepared an essay entitled the Crime of Barbarity in which genocide was portrayed as a crime against international law. Year 1933 ( MCMXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The concept of the crime, which later evolved into the idea of genocide, originated with the experience of the Assyrians^[2] massacred in Iraq on 11 August 1933. The Assyrians are an Ethnic group whose origins lie in what is today Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria. The Simele massacre ( Syriac: syr ܦܪܡܬܐ ܕܣܡܠܐ Premta d-Simele) was the first of many massacres committed by the For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. Events 2492 BC - Traditional date of the defeat of Bel by Hayk, progenitor and founder of the Armenian nation Year 1933 ( MCMXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. To Lemkin, the event in Iraq evoked "memories of the slaughter of Armenians" during World War I. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All ^[2] He presented his first proposal to outlaw such "acts of barbarism" to the Legal Council of the League of Nations in Madrid the same year. The proposal failed, and his work incurred the disapproval of the Polish government, which was at the time pursuing a policy of conciliation with Nazi Germany. Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers ^[2]

In 1944,the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace published Lemkin's most important work, entitled Axis Rule in Occupied Europe, in the United States. Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace is a formally private nonprofit organization in practice closely associated with the United States Department of State, This book included an extensive legal analysis of German rule in countries occupied by Nazi Germany during the course of World War II, along with the definition of the term genocide. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including ^[3] Lemkin's idea of genocide as an offense against international law was widely accepted by the international community and was one of the legal bases of the Nuremberg Trials (the indictment of the 24 Nazi leaders specifies in Count 3 that the defendants "conducted deliberate and systematic genocide—namely, the extermination of racial and national groups. The Nuremberg Trials were a series of trials most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political military and economic leadership of Nazi Germany after The Nuremberg Trials were a series of trials most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political military and economic leadership of Nazi Germany after . . "^[4]) Lemkin presented a draft resolution for a Genocide Convention treaty to a number of countries in an effort to persuade them to sponsor the resolution. With the support of the United States, the resolution was placed before the General Assembly for consideration. Defining genocide in 1943, Lemkin wrote:

Generally speaking, genocide does not necessarily mean the immediate destruction of a nation, except when accomplished by mass killings of all members of a nation. It is intended rather to signify a coordinated plan of different actions aiming at the destruction of essential foundations of the life of national groups, with the aim of annihilating the groups themselves. The objectives of such a plan would be the disintegration of the political and social institutions, of culture, language, national feelings, religion, and the economic existence of national groups, and the destruction of the personal security, liberty, health, dignity, and even the lives of the individuals belonging to such groups. ^[5]

Genocide as a crime under international law

In the wake of The Holocaust, Lemkin successfully campaigned for the universal acceptance of international laws defining and forbidding genocide. The Holocaust (from the Greek el ''ὁλόκαυστον'' (el-Latn holókauston holos, "completely" and kaustos, "burnt" also known as International law is the term commonly used for referring to the system of implicit and explicit agreements that bind together nation-states in adherence to recognized values and standards This was achieved in 1948, with the promulgation of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1948 and came into effect in January 1951

The CPPCG was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 9 December 1948 and came into effect on 12 January 1951 (Resolution 260 (III)). Membership For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly see General Assembly members Events 536 - Byzantine General Belisarius enters Rome while the Ostrogothic garrison peacefully leaves the city Year 1948 ( MCMXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 475 - Basiliscus becomes Byzantine Emperor, with a coronation ceremony in the Hebdomon palace in Constantinople Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January It contains an internationally-recognized definition of genocide which was incorporated into the national criminal legislation of many countries, and was also adopted by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (often referred to as the International Criminal Court Statute or the Rome Statute) is the Treaty The International Criminal Court ( ICC or ICCt) was established in 2002 as a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for Genocide, crimes against The Convention (in article 2) defines genocide:

. . . any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:

(a) Killing members of the group;

(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;

(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;

(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;

(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group. Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction in whole or in part of an ethnic racial religious or national group

– Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, Article II

The first draft of the Convention included political killings, but the USSR^[6] along with some other nations would not accept that actions against groups identified as holding similar political opinions or social status would constitute genocide, ^[7] so these stipulations were subsequently removed in a political and diplomatic compromise. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991

The Convention was manifestly adopted for humanitarian and civilizing purposes. Its objectives are to safeguard the very existence of certain human groups and to affirm and emphasize the most elementary principles of humanity and morality. In view of the rights involved, the legal obligations to refrain from genocide are recognized as erga omnes. Erga omnes ( Latin: in relation to everyone is frequently used in legal terminology describing obligations or rights toward all.
When the Convention was drafted, it was already envisaged that it would apply not only to then existing forms of genocide, but also "to any method that might be evolved in the future with a view to destroying the physical existence of a group". ^[8] As emphasized in the preamble to the Convention, genocide has marred all periods of history, and it is this very tragic recognition that gives the concept its historical evolutionary nature.
The Convention must be interpreted in good faith, in accordance with the ordinary meaning of its terms, in their context, and in the light of its object and purpose. Moreover, the text of the Convention should be interpreted in such a way that a reason and a meaning can be attributed to every word. No word or provision may be disregarded or treated as superfluous, unless this is absolutely necessary to give effect to the terms read as a whole. ^[9]
Genocide is a crime under international law regardless of "whether committed in time of peace or in time of war" (art. I). Thus, irrespective of the context in which it occurs (for example, peace time, internal strife, international armed conflict or whatever the general overall situation) genocide is a punishable international crime.

– UN Commission of Experts that examined violations of international humanitarian law committed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia. ^[10]

Intent to destroy

In 1997 the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), noted in its judgement on Jorgic v. The European Court of Human Rights ( ECtHR) (Cour européenne des droits de l’homme in Strasbourg was established under the European Convention on Human Rights Germany case that in 1992 the majority of legal scholars took the narrow view that "intent to destroy" in the CPPCG meant the intended physical-biological destruction of the protected group and that this was still the majority opinion. But the ECHR also noted that a minority took a broader view and did not consider biological-physical destruction was necessary as the intent to destroy a group as a social unit was enough to qualify as genocide. ^[11]

In the same judgement the ECHR reviewed the judgements of several international and municipal courts judgements. It noted that International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the International Court of Justice had agreed with the narrow interpretation, that biological-physical destruction was necessary for an act to qualify as genocide. The International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991 See also International Commission of Jurists The International Court of Justice (known colloquially as the World Court or ICJ; Cour The ECHR also noted that at the time of its the judgement, apart from courts in Germany which had taken a broad view, that there had been few cases of genocide under other Convention States municipal laws and that "There are no reported cases in which the courts of these States have defined the type of group destruction the perpetrator must have intended in order to be found guilty of genocide". Municipal law is an International law term used to denote the national domestic or internal Law of a sovereign State. ^[12]

In part

The phrase "in whole or in part" has been subject to much discussion by scholars of international humanitarian law. ^[13] The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia found in Prosecutor v. The International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991 Radislav Krstic - Trial Chamber I - Judgment - IT-98-33 (2001) ICTY8 (2 August 2001)^[14] that Genocide had been committed. In Prosecutor v. Radislav Krstic - Appeals Chamber - Judgment - IT-98-33 (2004) ICTY 7 (19 April 2004)^[15] paragraphs 8, 9, 10, and 11 addressed the issue of in part and found that "the part must be a substantial part of that group. The aim of the Genocide Convention is to prevent the intentional destruction of entire human groups, and the part targeted must be significant enough to have an impact on the group as a whole. " The Appeals Chamber goes into details of other cases and the opinions of respected commentators on the Genocide Convention to explain how they came to this conclusion.

The judges continue in paragraph 12, "The determination of when the targeted part is substantial enough to meet this requirement may involve a number of considerations. The numeric size of the targeted part of the group is the necessary and important starting point, though not in all cases the ending point of the inquiry. The number of individuals targeted should be evaluated not only in absolute terms, but also in relation to the overall size of the entire group. In addition to the numeric size of the targeted portion, its prominence within the group can be a useful consideration. If a specific part of the group is emblematic of the overall group, or is essential to its survival, that may support a finding that the part qualifies as substantial within the meaning of Article 4 [of the Tribunal's Statute]. "^[16][17]

In paragraph 13 the judges raise the issue of the perpetrators' access to the victims: "The historical examples of genocide also suggest that the area of the perpetrators’ activity and control, as well as the possible extent of their reach, should be considered. . . . The intent to destroy formed by a perpetrator of genocide will always be limited by the opportunity presented to him. While this factor alone will not indicate whether the targeted group is substantial, it can - in combination with other factors - inform the analysis. "^[15]

CPPCG coming into force

After the minimum 20 countries became parties to the Convention, it came into force as international law on 12 January 1951. Events 475 - Basiliscus becomes Byzantine Emperor, with a coronation ceremony in the Hebdomon palace in Constantinople Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January At that time however, only two of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) were parties to the treaty: France and the Republic of China. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES Eventually the Soviet Union ratified in 1954, the United Kingdom in 1970, the People's Republic of China in 1983 (having replaced the Taiwan-based Republic of China on the UNSC in 1971), and the United States in 1988. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES The United States of America —commonly referred to as the This long delay in support for the Genocide Convention by the world's most powerful nations caused the Convention to languish for over four decades. Only in the 1990s did the international law on the crime of genocide begin to be enforced.

Security Council responsibility to protect

UN Security Council Resolution 1674, adopted by the United Nations Security Council on 28 April 2006, "reaffirms the provisions of paragraphs 138 and 139 of the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document regarding the responsibility to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity". Resolution 1674, adopted by the United Nations Security Council on 28 April 2006, "reaffirms the provisions of paragraphs 138 and 139 of the 2005 Events 1192 - Assassination of Conrad of Montferrat (Conrad I King of Jerusalem, in Tyre, two days after his title Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The 2005 World Summit, 14&ndash 16 September 2005, was a follow-up summit meeting to the United Nations ' 2000 Millennium Summit ^[18] The resolution commits the Council to action to protect civilians in armed conflict. A United Nations Security Council Resolution is a United Nations resolution voted on by the fifteen members of the United Nations Security Council; the United

Criticisms of the CPPCG and other definitions of genocide

See also: Genocide definitions

Much debate about genocides revolves around the proper definition of the word "genocide. This is a list of scholarly and international legal definitions of Genocide, a word coined by Raphael Lemkin in 1944 " The exclusion of social and political groups as targets of genocide in the CPPCG legal definition has been criticized by some historians and sociologists, for example M. Hassan Kakar in his book The Soviet Invasion and the Afghan Response, 1979-1982^[19] argues that the international definition of genocide is too restricted,^[20] and that it should include political groups or any group so defined by the perpetrator and quotes Chalk and Jonassohn: "Genocide is a form of one-sided mass killing in which a state or other authority intends to destroy a group, as that group and membership in it are defined by the perpetrator. "^[21] While there are various definitions of the term, Adam Jones states that the majority of genocide scholars consider that "intent to destroy" is a requirement for any act to be labelled genocide, and that there is growing agreement on the inclusion of the physical destruction criterion. ^[22]

Barbara Harff and Ted Gurr defined genocide as "the promotion and execution of policies by a state or its agents which result in the deaths of a substantial portion of a group . . . [when] the victimized groups are defined primarily in terms of their communal characteristics, i. e. , ethnicity, religion or nationality. "^[23] Harff and Gurr also differentiate between genocides and politicides by the characteristics by which members of a group are identified by the state. Politicide has three related but distinct meanings It can mean a gradual but systematic attempt to cause the annihilation of an independent political and social entity In genocides, the victimized groups are defined primarily in terms of their communal characteristics, i. e. , ethnicity, religion or nationality. In politicides the victim groups are defined primarily in terms of their hierarchical position or political opposition to the regime and dominant groups. ^[24][25] Daniel D. Polsby and Don B. Kates, Jr. state that ". . . we follow Harff's distinction between genocides and 'pogroms,' which she describes as 'short-lived outbursts by mobs, which, although often condoned by authorities, rarely persist. A pogrom is a form of Riot directed against a particular group whether ethnic religious or other and characterized by destruction of their Homes Businesses ' If the violence persists for long enough, however, Harff argues, the distinction between condonation and complicity collapses. "^[26]

According to R. J. Rummel, genocide has 3 different meanings. Rudolph Joseph Rummel (born October 21, 1932) is Professor emeritus of Political science at the University of Hawaii. The ordinary meaning is murder by government of people due to their national, ethnic, racial, or religious group membership. The legal meaning of genocide refers to the international treaty, the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. This also includes non-killings that in the end eliminate the group, such as preventing births or forcibly transferring children out of the group to another group. A generalized meaning of genocide is similar to the ordinary meaning but also includes government killings of political opponents or otherwise intentional murder. It is to avoid confusion regarding what meaning is intended that Rummel created the term democide for the third meaning. Definition According to Rummel Genocide has three different meanings ^[27]

A major criticism of the international community's response to the Rwandan Genocide was that it was reactive, not proactive. The international community has developed a mechanism for prosecuting the perpetrators of genocide but has not developed the will or the mechanisms for intervening in a genocide as it happens. Critics point to the Darfur conflict and suggest that if anyone is found guilty of genocide after the conflict either by prosecutions brought in the International Criminal Court or in an ad hoc International Criminal Tribunal, this will confirm this perception. The War in Darfur is a military conflict in the Darfur region of western Sudan.

International prosecution of genocide (ad hoc tribunals)

All signatories to the CPPCG are required to prevent and punish acts of genocide, both in peace and wartime, though some barriers make this enforcement difficult. In particular, some of the signatories — namely, Bahrain, Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, the United States, Vietnam, Yemen, and Yugoslavia — signed with the proviso that no claim of genocide could be brought against them at the International Court of Justice without their consent. The Kingdom of Bahrain (in مملكة البحرين,, literally Kingdom of the Two Seas) is an Island country in the Persian Gulf ( Bengali: বাংলাদেশ inc-Latn Bangladesh) officially India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country For the biogeographical region see Malesia Malaysia (məˈleɪʒə or /məˈleɪziə/ is a country that consists of thirteen states and The Philippines ( Filipino: Pilipinas, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (fil ''Republika ng Pilipinas'' RP Singapore The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Vietnam (ˌviːɛtˈnɑːm Việt Nam) officially Yemen ( Arabic: اليَمَن al-Yaman officially the Republic of Yemen ( Arabic: الجمهورية اليمنية al-Jumhuuriyya See also Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Yugoslavia ( Serbo-Croatian See also International Commission of Jurists The International Court of Justice (known colloquially as the World Court or ICJ; Cour ^[28] Despite official protests from other signatories (notably Cyprus and Norway) on the ethics and legal standing of these reservations, the immunity from prosecution they grant has been invoked from time to time, as when the United States refused to allow a charge of genocide brought against it by Yugoslavia following the 1999 Kosovo War. Cyprus (Κύπρος transliterated: Kýpros,; Kıbrıs officially the Republic of Cyprus (Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional See also Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Yugoslavia ( Serbo-Croatian The term Kosovo War or Kosovo Conflict is often used to describe two sequential and at times parallel armed conflicts in Kosovo: 1996–1999 ^[29]

It is commonly accepted that, at least since World War II, genocide has been illegal under customary international law as a peremptory norm, as well as under conventional international law. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including In Law, custom can be described as the established patterns of behavior that can be objectively verified within a particular social setting A peremptory norm (also called jus cogens or ius cogens, Latin for "compelling law" is a fundamental principle of A Treaty is an agreement under International law entered into by actors in international law namely States and International organizations. Acts of genocide are generally difficult to establish for prosecution, because a chain of accountability must be established. International criminal courts and tribunals function primarily because the states involved are incapable or unwilling to prosecute crimes of this magnitude themselves.

Nuremberg Trials

Main article: Nuremberg Trials

Because the universal acceptance of international laws, defining and forbidding genocide was achieved in 1948, with the promulgation of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG), those criminals who were prosecuted after the war in international courts, for taking part in the Holocaust were found guilty of crimes against humanity and other more specific crimes like murder. The Nuremberg Trials were a series of trials most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political military and economic leadership of Nazi Germany after International law is the term commonly used for referring to the system of implicit and explicit agreements that bind together nation-states in adherence to recognized values and standards The Holocaust (from the Greek el ''ὁλόκαυστον'' (el-Latn holókauston holos, "completely" and kaustos, "burnt" also known as In Public international law, a crime against humanity is an act of Persecution or any large scale atrocities against a body of people and is the highest level of Nevertheless the Holocaust is universally recognized to have been a genocide and the term, that had been coined the year before by Raphael Lemkin,^[30] appeared in the indictment of the 24 Nazi leaders, Count 3, stated that all the defendants had "conducted deliberate and systematic genocide – namely, the extermination of racial and national groups. Raphael Lemkin ( June 24, 1900 – August 28, 1959) was a Lawyer of Polish - Jewish descent The Nuremberg Trials were a series of trials most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political military and economic leadership of Nazi Germany after . . "^[31]

Former Yugoslavia

Main articles: Bosnian Genocide and List of Bosnian genocide prosecutions

The term Bosnian Genocide is used to refer either to the genocide committed by Serb forces in Srebrenica in 1995,^[32] or to ethnic cleansing that took place during the 1992-1995 Bosnian War (an interpretation rejected by a majority of scholars). This article refers to Genocide during the 1992-1995 Bosnian War. This is a list of prosecutions bought against Serbia and individuals for the crime of Genocide in Bosnia. The Srebrenica Massacre, also known as Srebrenica Genocide, was the July 1995 killing of an estimated 8000 Bosniak men and boys in the region of Srebrenica Srebrenica ( Cyrillic: Сребреница srɛbrɛnitsa is a Town and municipality in the east of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the Republika Srpska Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 Ethnic cleansing is a Euphemism referring to the persecution through imprisonment expulsion or killing of members of an ethnic minority by a majority to achieve ethnic homogeneity The War in Bosnia and Herzegovina, commonly known as the Bosnian War, was an international armed conflict that took place between March 1992 and November 1995 ^[33]

In 2001 the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) judged that the 1995 Srebrenica massacre was an act of genocide. The International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991 The Srebrenica Massacre, also known as Srebrenica Genocide, was the July 1995 killing of an estimated 8000 Bosniak men and boys in the region of Srebrenica ^[34]

On February 26, 2007 the International Court of Justice (ICJ), in the Bosnian Genocide Case upheld the ICTY's earlier finding that the Srebrenica massacre constituted genocide, but found that the Serbian government had not participated in a wider genocide on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina during the war, as the Bosnian government had claimed. Events 747 BC - Epoch (origin of Ptolemy 's Nabonassar Era 364 - Valentinian I is proclaimed Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. See also International Commission of Jurists The International Court of Justice (known colloquially as the World Court or ICJ; Cour The Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Bosnia and Herzegovina v ^[35]

On 12 July 2007, European Court of Human Rights when dismissing the appeal by Nikola Jorgic against his conviction for genocide by a German court (Jorgic v. Events 1191 - Saladin 's garrison surrenders ending the two-year Siege of Acre. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The European Court of Human Rights ( ECtHR) (Cour européenne des droits de l’homme in Strasbourg was established under the European Convention on Human Rights Nikola Jorgic is a Bosnian Serb from the Doboj region who was the leader of a paramilitary group located in the Doboj region Germany) noted that the German courts wider interpretation of genocide has since been rejected by international courts considering similar cases. ^[36][37][38] The ECHR also noted that in the 21 century "Amongst scholars, the majority have taken the view that ethnic cleansing, in the way in which it was carried out by the Serb forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to expel Muslims and Croats from their homes, did not constitute genocide. The 21st century is the current century of the Christian Era or Common Era in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. However, there are also a considerable number of scholars who have suggested that these acts did amount to genocide"^[39]

About 30 people have been indicted for participating in genocide or complicity in genocide during the early 1990s in Bosnia. Bosnia and Herzegovina ( Latin script: Bosna i Hercegovina, Cyrillic script: Босна и Херцеговина is a country on the Balkan To date after several plea bargains and some convictions that were successfully challenged on appeal only Radislav Krstic had been found guilty of complicity in genocide in an international court. A plea bargain (also plea agreement, plea deal or copping a plea) is an agreement in a Criminal case whereby the Prosecutor offers Radislav Krstić (Радислав Крстић (born February 15, 1948) was the Chief of Staff/Deputy Commander of the Drina Corps of the Republika Three others have been found guilty of participating in genocides in Bosnia by German courts, one of whom Nikola Jorgic lost an appeal against his conviction in the European Court of Human Rights. Nikola Jorgic is a Bosnian Serb from the Doboj region who was the leader of a paramilitary group located in the Doboj region The European Court of Human Rights ( ECtHR) (Cour européenne des droits de l’homme in Strasbourg was established under the European Convention on Human Rights Several former members of the Bosnian Serb security forces are currently on trial in Bosnia and Herzegovina indited on several charges including genocide.

Slobodan Milosevic, as the former President of Serbia and of Yugoslavia he was the most senior political figure to stand trial at the ICTY. He died on 11 March 2006 during his trial where he was as accused of genocide or complicity in genocide in territories within Bosnia and Herzegovina so no verdict was returned. Events 1425 BC - Thutmose III, Pharaoh of Egypt, dies (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty The ICTY has issued a warrant for the arrest of Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic on several charges including genocide but to date they have evaded arrest and remain at large. Radovan Karadžić (Радован Караџић râdovaːn kâraʤiʨ born in Petnjica, SR Montenegro, SFR Yugoslavia) is a former Bosnian Ratko Mladić (Ратко Младић râtkɔ mlǎːditɕ born March 12, 1942, was the Chief of Staff of the Army of Republika Srpska (the Bosnian

Rwanda

Main article: Rwandan Genocide

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) is a court under the auspices of the United Nations for the prosecution of offenses committed in Rwanda during the genocide which occurred there during April, 1994, commencing on April 6. The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass killing of hundreds of thousands of Rwanda 's minority Tutsis and the moderates of its Hutu majority See also Rwandan Genocide The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda ( ICTR) is an International court established in November The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security The Republic of Rwanda (ruːˈændə or /rəˈwɑːndə/ in English ɾwanda or in Kinyarwanda is a small Landlocked country in the The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass killing of hundreds of thousands of Rwanda 's minority Tutsis and the moderates of its Hutu majority Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato in the Battle of Thapsus The ICTR was created on November 8, 1994 by the Security Council of the United Nations in order to judge those people responsible for the acts of genocide and other serious violations of the international law performed in the territory of Rwanda, or by Rwandan citizens in nearby states, between January 1 and December 31, 1994. Events 1519 - Hernán Cortés enters Tenochtitlán and Aztec ruler Moctezuma welcomes him with great a Celebration Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC Events 406 – Vandals, Alans and Suebians cross the Rhine, beginning an invasion of Gallia. Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar)

So far, the ICTR has finished nineteen trials and convicted twenty five accused persons. Another twenty five persons are still on trial. Nineteen are awaiting trial in detention. Ten are still at large. The first trial, of Jean-Paul Akayesu, began in 1997. Jean-Paul Akayesu (born 1953 is a former Teacher, school inspector and Mouvement Démocratique Républicain Politician Jean Kambanda, interim Prime Minister, pleaded guilty. Jean Kambanda (born October 19, 1955) was the Prime Minister in the Caretaker government of Rwanda from the start of the 1994 ^[40]

International prosecution of genocide (International Criminal Court)

To date all international prosecutions for genocide have been brought in specially convened international tribunals. Since 2002, the International Criminal Court can exercise its jurisdiction if national courts are unwilling or unable to investigate or prosecute genocide, thus being a "court of last resort," leaving the primary responsibility to exercise jurisdiction over alleged criminals to individual states. See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. Due to the United States concerns over the ICC, the United States prefers to continue to use specially convened international tribunals for such investigations and potential prosecutions. Positions in the United States concerning the International Criminal Court (ICC vary widely ^[41]

Darfur

Main article: Darfuri genocide

The on-going conflict in Darfur, Sudan, which started in 2003, was declared a "genocide" by United States Secretary of State Colin Powell on September 9, 2004 in testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The War in Darfur is a military conflict in the Darfur region of western Sudan. Darfur (دار فور daar foor, lit "realm of the Fur " is a region in Sudan. Sudan (officially the Republic of Sudan) ( السودان al-Sūdān is a country in northeastern Africa. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. The United States Secretary of State (commonly abbreviated as SecState) is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with Foreign affairs Colin Luther Powell, KCB (Honorary MSC, (born April 5, 1937) is a retired General in the United States Army. Events 1000 - Battle of Svolder, Viking Age. 1379 - Treaty of Neuberg, splitting the Austrian "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the United States Senate. ^[42] Since that time however, no other permanent member of the UN Security Council has followed suit. In fact, in January 2005, an International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur, authorized by UN Security Council Resolution 1564 of 2004, issued a report to the Secretary-General stating that "the Government of the Sudan has not pursued a policy of genocide. Security Council Resolution 1564 was a UN Security Council Resolution regarding the Darfur conflict passed on September 18, 2004. "^[43] Nevertheless, the Commission cautioned that "The conclusion that no genocidal policy has been pursued and implemented in Darfur by the Government authorities, directly or through the militias under their control, should not be taken in any way as detracting from the gravity of the crimes perpetrated in that region. International offences such as the crimes against humanity and war crimes that have been committed in Darfur may be no less serious and heinous than genocide. "^[44] In March 2005, the Security Council formally referred the situation in Darfur to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, taking into account the Commission report but without mentioning any specific crimes. ^[45] Two permanent members of the Security Council, the United States and China, abstained from the vote on the referral resolution. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES ^[46] As of his fourth report to the Security Council, the Prosecutor has found "reasonable grounds to believe that the individuals identified [in the UN Security Council Resolution 1593] have committed crimes against humanity and war crimes," but did not find sufficient evidence to prosecute for genocide. United Nations Security Council Resolution 1593 was adopted by the United Nations Security Council on 31 March 2005, by a vote of eleven to none ^[47]

Genocide as a crime under municipal law

Main article: Genocide under municipal laws

Since the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG) came into effect in January 1951 about 80 member states of the United Nations have passed legislation that incorporates the provisions of the CPPCG into their municipal law. The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG came into effect in January 1951 Municipal law is an International law term used to denote the national domestic or internal Law of a sovereign State.

Genocide in history

Main article: Genocides in history

The preamble to the CPPCG not only states that "genocide is a crime under international law, contrary to the spirit and aims of the United Nations and condemned by the civilized world", but that "at all periods of history genocide has inflicted great losses on humanity". Genocide is the mass killing of a group of people as defined by Article 2 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG as "any of The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1948 and came into effect in January 1951

Determining which historical events constitute genocide and which are merely criminal or inhuman behavior is not a clear-cut matter. Furthermore, in nearly every case where accusations of genocide have circulated, partisans of various sides have fiercely disputed the interpretation and details of the event, often to the point of promoting wildly different versions of the facts. An accusation of genocide is certainly not taken lightly and will almost always be controversial. Revisionist attempts to deny or challenge genocides (mainly the Holocaust) are, in some countries, illegal. For the critical reexamination of historical facts see Historical revisionism.

Stages of genocide and efforts to prevent it

For genocide to happen, there must be certain preconditions. Foremost among them is a national culture that does not place a high value on human life. A totalitarian society, with its assumed superior ideology, is also a precondition for genocidal acts. ^[48] In addition, members of the dominant society must perceive their potential victims as less than fully human: as “pagans,” “savages,” “uncouth barbarians,” “unbelievers,” “effete degenerates,” “ritual outlaws,” “racial inferiors,” “class antagonists,” “counterrevolutionaries,” and so on. ^[49] In themselves, these conditions are not enough for the perpetrators to commit genocide. To do that—that is, to commit genocide—the perpetrators need a strong, centralized authority and bureaucratic organization as well as pathological individuals and criminals. Also required is a campaign of vilification and dehumanization of the victims by the perpetrators, who are usually new states or new regimes attempting to impose conformity to a new ideology and its model of society. ^[50]

– M. Hassan Kakar^[51]

In 1996 Gregory Stanton the president of Genocide Watch presented briefing paper called "The 8 Stages of Genocide" at the United States Department of State. Gregory H Stanton is the founder (1999 and president of Genocide Watch, the founder (1981 and director of the Cambodian Genocide Project, and the founder (1999 Genocide Watch is an international organization based in the United States which attempts to predict prevent limit eliminate and punish genocides throughout the world through ^[52] In it he suggested that genocide develops in eight stages that are "predictable but not inexorable". ^[52][53]

The Stanton paper was presented at the State Department, shortly after the Rwanda genocide and much of the analysis is based on why that genocide occurred. The preventative measures suggested, given the original target audience, were those that the United States could implement directly or use their influence on other governments to have implemented.

In a paper for the Social Science Research Council Dirk Moses criticises Stanton approach concluding:

In view of this rather poor record of ending genocide, the question needs to be asked why the "genocide studies" paradigm cannot predict and prevent genocides with any accuracy and reliability. The Social Science Research Council (SSRC is an independent research organization based in New York City. The paradigm of "genocide studies," as currently constituted in North America in particular, has both strengths and limitations. While the moral fervor and public activism is admirable and salutary, the paradigm appears blind to its own implication in imperial projects that are themselves as much part of the problem as they are part of the solution. The US government called Darfur a genocide to appease domestic lobbies, and because the statement cost it nothing. Darfur will end when it suits the great powers that have a stake in the region.

– Dirk Moses^[54]

See also

• Autogenocide
• Crime against humanity
• Cultural genocide
• Democide
• Ethnic cleansing
• Ethnocide
• Fondation Chirezi
• Gendercide
• Genocide Convention
• Genocide denial
• Genocides in history
• Historical revisionism (negationism)
• International Association of Genocide Scholars
• Kamau Kambon
• Midian War
• Minority Rights Group International
• Nazi eugenics
• Policide
• Rwanda
• Sudan
• Ten Threats identified by the UN
• Universal jurisdiction
• Völkerstrafgesetzbuch
• War crime

Footnotes

References

• Kakar, M. The Social Science Research Council (SSRC is an independent research organization based in New York City. Events 1790 - The Turkish fortress of Izmail is stormed and captured by Suvorov and his Russian armies Hassan. Afghanistan: The Soviet Invasion and the Afghan Response, 1979–1982. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995. The University of California ( UC) is a Public university system in the state of California. ISBN 0520085914.

Further reading

Books

• Frank Chalk and Kurt Jonassohn, The History and Sociology of Genocide: Analyses and Case Studies, Yale University Press, 1990
• Israel W. Charny, Encyclopedia of Genocide, ABC-Clio Inc, 720 pages, ISBN 0-87436-928-2 (December 1, 1999)
• Daniele Conversi, 'Genocide, ethnic cleansing, and nationalism', in Gerard Delanty and Krishan Kumar (eds) Handbook of Nations and Nationalism. Dr Israel W Charny is a world renowned genocide expert, he is the editor of the distinguished two-volume Encyclopedia of Genocide Events 800 - Charlemagne judges the accusations against Pope Leo III in the Vatican Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) London: Sage Publications, 2005, vol. 1, pp. 319-333
• Barbara Harff, Early Warning of Communal Conflict and Genocide: Linking Empirical Research to International Responses, Westview Press, August 2003, paperback, 256 pages, ISBN 0-8133-9840-1
• Michael J. Kelly, Nowhere to Hide: Defeat of the Sovereign Immunity Defense for Crimes of Genocide & the Trials of Slobodan Milosevic and Saddam Hussein (Peter Lang 2005)
• Alexander Laban. Genocide: An Anthropological Reader, Blackwell Publishing 2002 ISBN 063122355X
• Catharine A. MacKinnon Are Women Human?: And Other International Dialogues, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2006
• Powers, Samantha, "A Problem from Hell": America and the Age of Genocide Harper Perennial (2003) paperback, 656 pages ISBN 0-06-054164-4
• Rosenfeld, Gavriel D. Catharine Alice MacKinnon (born October 7, 1946) is an American feminist, Scholar, Lawyer, Teacher and Samantha Power (born 1970 in Ireland) is an Irish American journalist writer and academic The Politics of Uniqueness: Reflections on the Recent Polemical Turn in Holocaust and Genocide Scholarship Holocaust and Genocide Studies 1999 13(1):28-61; doi:10. Holocaust and Genocide Studies is the leading international Peer-reviewed Academic journal addressing the issue of the Holocaust and other Genocides 1093/hgs/13. 1. 28
• R.J. Rummel. Rudolph Joseph Rummel (born October 21, 1932) is Professor emeritus of Political science at the University of Hawaii. Death By Government. Transaction Publishers, 496 pages, ISBN 1-56000-927-6 (March 1997)
• Martin Shaw, What is Genocide? Cambridge: Polity Press, 2007. Transaction Publishers is a Publishing house that specializes in Social sciences books and journals since 1962
• Lyal S. Sunga, The Emerging System of International Criminal Law: Developments in Codification and Implementation , Kluwer (1997) 508 p. Professor Lyal S Sunga, Senior Lecturer / Director of Research Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law Lund Sweden is a specialist on international (ISBN 90-411-0472-0)
• Lyal S. Sunga, Individual Responsibility in International Law for Serious Human Rights Violations, Nijhoff (1992) 252 p. Professor Lyal S Sunga, Senior Lecturer / Director of Research Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law Lund Sweden is a specialist on international (ISBN 0-7923-1453-0)
• Samuel Totten, William S. Parsons, and Israel W. Charny, Century of Genocide: Critical Essays and Eyewitness Accounts, 2nd edition, Routledge, 2004
• Benjamin A. Rear Admiral William Sterling "Deak" Parsons ( November 26, 1901 - December 5, 1953) was an American Military Dr Israel W Charny is a world renowned genocide expert, he is the editor of the distinguished two-volume Encyclopedia of Genocide Valentino. Final Solutions: Mass Killing and Genocide in the 20th Century. Cornell University Press, 2004. ISBN 0801439655

• Preventing Genocide and Mass Killing: The Challenge for the United NationsPDF (366 KiB), report by Minority Rights Group International, 2006

Overviews

• Aegis Trust (genocide prevention trust) An independent international organisation dedicated to eliminating genocide
• BBC on defining genocide
• Committee on Conscience of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum; Responding to Threats of Genocide
• Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide at Law-Ref.org - fully indexed and crosslinked with other documents
• Documents and Resources on War, War Crimes and Genocide
• Facing History and Ourselves
• Genocide Intervention Network
• Genocide Watch stages of genocide
• Institute for the Study of Genocide/International Association of Genocide Scholars
• Never Again International youth genocide prevention organization; organized the 2004 Rwanda Forum at the Imperial War Museum in London. A kibibyte (a contraction of ki lo bi nary byte) is a unit of Information or Computer storage, established by the International
• Never Again Wiki
• OneWorld Perspectives Magazine: Preventing Genocide (April/May 2006) - global human rights and development network looks at genocide from a variety of perspectives
• Staff, The Crime of Genocide in Domestic Laws and Penal Codes, Prevent Genocide International
• Voices of the Holocaust - a learning resource at the British Library
• Worst Genocides of the 20th Century - a list of the some of the worst genocides in the 20th century. Listing from the most amount of victims to the least amount.
• Test of Genocide in Cambodia and Reparations for the Khmer Rouge (Democratic Kampuchea) period (Court Monitoring and Analysis)
• Genocide & Crimes Against Humanity - a learning resource, highlighting the cases of Myanmar, Bosnia, the DRC, and Darfur

Research Programs

• Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
• Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, University of Minnesota
• Genocide Studies Program, Yale University
• GenoDynamics: Understanding Genocide Through Time and Space by Christian Davenport (University of Maryland) and Allan Stam (Dartmouth University)
• Montreal Institute for Genocide Studies, Concordia University
• Minorities at Risk project at the University of Maryland
• The Inforce Foundation (International Forensic Centre of Excellence), UK