Information AboutGenocide |
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COINING OF THE TERM GENOCIDE The term "genocide" was coined by Raphael Lemkin (1900–1959), a Polish Jewish legal scholar, in 1943, from the roots ''genos'' ( Greek for family, tribe or race) and ''-cide'' ( Latin - ''occidere'' or ''cideo'' - to massacre). Lemkin said about the definition of genocide in its original adoption for international law at the Geneva Conventions: :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.Raphael Lemkin, Axis Rule in Occupied Europe (Wash., D.C.: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1944), p. 79. Lemkin's original genocide definition was narrow, as it addressed only crimes against "national groups" rather than "groups" in general. At the same time, it was broad in that it included not only physical genocide, but also acts aimed at destroying the culture and livelihood of the group. GENOCIDE AS A CRIME UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW In the wake of the Nazi perpetrated Holocaust , Lemkin successfully campaigned for the universal acceptance of International Law s, defining and forbidding genocide. This was achieved in 1948, with the promulgation of the ''Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide''. The CPPCG was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 9 December 1948 and came into effect on 12 January 1951 (Resolution 260 (III)). 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 Convention (in article 2) 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. The first draft of the Convention included political killings but the USSR did not accept that actions against groups identified as holding similar Political Opinion or Social Status , that would constitute genocide if carried out against an ethnic group, was genocide. So they were removed in a political and diplomatic compromise. After the minimum 20 countries became parties to the Convention, it came into force as international law on and the Republic Of China . 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. 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. CRITICISMS OF THE CPPCG Much debate about genocides revolves around the proper definition of the word "genocide". The exclusion of social and political groups as targets of genocide in this legal definition has been criticized. Some historians and sociologists when discussing genocide include actions against such groups. Most generally, genocide is the deliberate destruction of a Social Identity . 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. Rummel's criticism According to R. J. Rummel , genocide has 3 different meanings. The ordinary meaning is murder by government of people due to their national, ethnical, 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 nonkillings 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. Domocide versus genocide; which is what? INTERNATIONAL PROSECUTION OF GENOCIDE 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, 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 . 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 . Acts of genocide are generally difficult to establish, for prosecution, since intent, demonstrating a chain of accountability, has to be established. International criminal courts and tribunals function primarily because the states involved are incapable or unwilling to prosecute crimes of this magnitude themselves. 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. 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 Nuremberg Trials :''Main article The Holocaust The Nuremberg Trials is the general name for two sets of trials of Nazis involved in World War II and The Holocaust . The trials were held in the German city of Nuremberg from 1945 to 1949 at the Nuremberg Palace Of Justice . The first and more famous of these trials was the Trial of the Major War Criminals Before the International Military Tribunal or IMT, which tried 24 of the most important captured (or still believed to be alive) leaders of Nazi Germany. It was held from November 20 , 1945 to October 1 , 1946 . Former Yugoslavia See Also: Bosnian Genocide The International Criminal Tribunal For The Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) is a court under the auspices of the United Nations for the prosecution of genocide and certain other types of crime committed in Former Yugoslavia since 1991. The tribunal functions as an ad-hoc court and is located in The Hague . It was established by Resolution 827 of the UN Security Council , which was passed on May 25 , 1993 . Some of those found guilty of Genocide or crimes against humanity are:
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 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 . 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 Kambanda , interim Prime Minister, pleaded guilty.These figures need revising they are from the ICTR page which says see www.ictr.org GENOCIDE AS A CRIME UNDER DOMESTIC LAW Belgium In August 1 , 2003 Finland Genocide has been criminalized as a separate crime in Finland since 1995 and carries a penalty from 4 years to life sentence. Attempted genocide or planning it are punishable. Genocide, as a number of other crimes of international nature is inside Finnish universal jurisdiction but incidents of it abroad may not be investigated unless the Prosecutor General gives an order to do this. Practically, this means that foreign incidents of genocide are only investigated if a political decision is made. To date (April 2006), no one has been charged with genocide in a Finnish court. France In December 2005 despite attempts by the French Defence Ministry to stop him, Jacques Baillet the prosecutor at the army tribunal, has begun an investigation into the role of the French army during the genocide in Rwanda. The 2,500 member French peace keeping force, that was sent to Rwanda in 1994 by 26 December 2005 Netherlands Dutch law restricts prosecutions for genocide to its nationals. On December 23 2005 Spain Under Spanish law, judges have the right to try foreigners suspected of genocidal acts that have taken place outside Spain. In June 2003 Spanish Judge 26 September 2005 On 11 January 2006 it was reported that the Spanish High Court will investigate whether seven former Chinese officials, including the former President of China Jiang Zemin and former Prime Minister Li Peng participated in a genocide in Tibet . This investigation follows a Spanish Constitutional Court ( 26 September 2005 ) ruling that Spanish courts could try genocide cases even if they did not involve Spanish nationals. Spanish courts to investigate if a genocide took place in Tibet. United Kingdom The United Kingdom has incorporated the International Criminal Court Act into domestic law. It is not retroactive so it only applies to events after May 2001 and genocide charges can only be filed against British nationals and residents. According to Peter Carter QC , chairman of the Bar's human rights committee Bar Human Rights Committee "is the international human rights arm of the Bar of England and Wales . It is an independent body primarily concerned with the protection of the rights of advocates and judges around the world." "It means that British mercenaries who support regimes that commit war crimes can expect prosecution". GENOCIDE IN HISTORY ''Main article: Genocides In History '' Genocide appears to be a regular and widespread event in the history of civilization. The phrase "never again" often used in relation to genocide has been contradicted up to the present day. 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 genocides is, in some countries, penally repressed. STAGES OF GENOCIDE AND EFFORTS TO PREVENT IT According to President of Genocide Watch , Gregory Stanton , genocide develops in eight stages that are "predictable but not inexorable". The FBI has found somewhat similar stages for Hate Groups . SEE ALSO
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NOTES # Statement by Carolyn Willson, Minister Counselor for International Legal Affairs, on the Report of the ICC, in the UN General Assembyy (PDF) November 23 2005
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