Question

essay on Genocide .........

Answer 1

Answer:

Explanation:

Introduction

Ever since the phrase ‘never again’ was etched onto handmade signs by the inmates at the

newly liberated Buchenwald camp, it has become the rallying call against genocide around

the world. The discriminated against swore they would never again be trampled underfoot, the

discounted promised to rise up, and the disregarded vowed never to be forgotten. Although

we have memorialised the Holocaust and ensured that its narrative is taught to children and

adults alike, its lessons seem to have been neglected. The “millions of victims of genocidal

violence in the 20th century are testimony to the ever present danger of genocide” and to the

failure of the international community in being unable, or unwilling, to prevent it.1 Former

Secretary General of the UN, Kofi Annan alluded to this at the first ever session marking the

anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, where he pointed out that though “we rightly say

never again…action is much harder. Since the Holocaust the world has, to its shame, failed

more than once to prevent or halt genocide”.

This paper will examine how the crime of genocide is defined and is distinguished from other

crimes against humanity. It will also discuss some of the controversies regarding how genocide

has been interpreted and the manner in which it has been implemented in practice.

What is Genocide?

The term ‘genocide’ was coined by a Polish-Jewish lawyer named Raphael Lemkin who formed

the word by combining the Greek word for race or tribe (Geno) with the Latin word for killing

(cide). In proposing this new term, Lemkin had in mind "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.”2

After witnessing the horrors of what would later become known as the Holocaust, in which every

member of his family except his brother was killed, Dr Lemkin campaigned to have genocide

recognised as a crime under international law. However it is important to note at this point, that

although the terminology and criminal law of genocide is a product of the Holocaust, genocide

has occurred numerous times throughout history.3

In 1948, the U.N. approved its Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of

Genocide (“the Convention”). This Convention establishes "genocide” as an international crime,

which signatory nations “undertake to prevent and punish.” It 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:

(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.

Significantly, Article 1 of the Convention establishes the crime of genocide in times of war or

peace. In 1948, this definition differed considerably from that of crimes against humanity, which only concerned violations against civilians during war—a limitation on the definition that no

longer applies. 4

The first draft of the Convention included political killings but these stipulations were

subsequently removed in a last-minute political and diplomatic compromise. However, politicide

is increasingly being recognised by scholars and the international community alike as being a

crime against humanity.5 This is reflective of the constantly evolving nature of the law of

genocide. It is important to consider that the legal framework surrounding genocide is not static

and thus one of the purposes of this paper is to provide a platform from which you can develop

your own opinion of how genocide should be defined in law.

PROTECTED GROUPS

According to the Convention, in order for a perpetrator to be guilty of genocide, the people he

intends to destroy must belong to one of the following four categories:

A national group: a set of individuals whose identity is defined by a common country of

nationality or national origin.

An ethnic group: a set of individuals whose identity is defined by common cultural traditions,

language or heritage.

A racial group: a set of individuals whose identity is defined by physical characteristics.

A religious group: a set of individuals whose identity is defined by common religious creeds,

beliefs, doctrines, practices, or rituals.