What is genocide?

Genocide
What is genocide?

The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of
Genocide (1948) defines genocide (article 2) as “any of the following
acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a
national, ethnical, racial or religious group…” including:

(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.


All such acts are violations of human rights, and may also be crimes
against humanity or war crimes, depending on the context in which they
were committed. The Convention confirms that genocide, whether
committed in time of peace or war, is a crime under international law
which parties to the Convention undertake “to prevent and to
punish” (article 1). Because it is a part of international customary
law the Convention is considered applicable in all countries,
irrespective of whether they have signed or ratified it.

Why does genocide happen?

Genocide and related atrocities may occur in societies in which
different national, racial, ethnic or religious groups become locked
in identity-related conflicts. Governments, political parties or
groups within society may either incite or exacerbate those conflicts,
or fail or deliberately refuse to intercede, and to ensure full
equality of all groups. The conflicts rarely emanate from the real or
perceived differences among those groups, but from the political and
economic inequities associated with those differences. The inequities
against a particular group often involve discrimination,
marginalization, exclusion, hate speech inciting to violence, and
denial of fundamental rights and civil liberties. Gross violations of
human rights, such as arbitrary arrest and detention or arbitrary
displacement often precede genocide. A history of violence based on
race, ethnicity or religion, political unrest and economic upheaval,
as well as the existence of a totalitarian or authoritarian regime
create an environment where genocide can more readily occur. For
genocide to happen a process of singling out a particular group takes
place, culminating in violence against the group, which is identified
as dangerous, undesirable, unworthy or inferior.

Why did the Secretary-General appoint a Special Adviser on the
Prevention of Genocide?

Genocide in Rwanda and the Balkans in the 1990s showed in the worst
possible way that the United Nations needed to do more to prevent
genocide. In 2001, the UN Security Council invited the Secretary-
General “to refer to the Council information and analyses within the
United Nations system on cases of serious violations of international
law” and on “potential conflict situations” arising from “ethnic,
religious and territorial disputes” and other related issues. To help
respond to the Council’s request, in 2004, the Secretary-General
appointed a Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide. The first
Special Adviser was Juan Mendez. In 2007 Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon
appointed Francis Deng as his Special Adviser on a full-time basis and
at the level of Under-Secretary-General.

The role of the United Nations in preventing genocide

The foundation of the United Nations is closely linked to the desire
of the international community to avert horrors such as the ones
perpetrated during the Second World War. Through their mandates,
operational activities and field presence in most countries, UN
agencies, departments and programmes contribute to the prevention of
genocide in a variety of ways, including by supporting equitable
development, promoting the protection of human rights, providing
humanitarian assistance and interceding to ensure peace, security and
stability. In particular, the Office of the High Commissioner for
Human Rights has the principal responsibility for United Nations human
rights activities, including the promotion and protection of all
civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, as well as the
coordination of human rights activities throughout the United Nations
system. It also services human rights treaty bodies, such as the
Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and human
rights mechanisms, such as the thematic and country rapporteurs, who
can provide warnings of the likelihood of genocide and make
recommendations. The UN Departments of Political Affairs of
Peacekeeping Operations work to ease political crises and threats to
peace. Other UN bodies, such as the UN Development Programme, the UN
Children’s Fund, the World Food Programme, the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees, and the United Nations Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, help mitigate or even prevent
the circumstances that can lead to genocide.

Where genocide does occur, the International Criminal Court, which is
separate and independent from the UN, is empowered to investigate and
prosecute those most responsible, if a State is unwilling or unable to
exercise jurisdiction over alleged perpetrators. Fighting impunity and
establishing a credible expectation that the perpetrators of genocide
and related crimes will be held accountable, can contribute
effectively to a culture of prevention.

Within the specific framework of the genocide prevention mandate, the
Special Adviser seeks and receives information relevant to the
protection of genocide from all UN bodies, in particular early-warning
information, and acts as a catalyst within the UN system, making
recommendations for effective prevention responses by the Secretary-
General, the Security Council, and other UN partners in a
comprehensive system-wide process, and supporting these partners in
undertaking preventive action in accordance with their mandates and
responsibilities.

Source: http://un.org/preventgenocide/adviser/genocide.shtml

Nandri
yuvan





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