Definition and Historical Examples of Genocide
The term genocide had its origin in the Armenian holocaust and was defined by Raphael Lemkin in 1944. It is the deliberate killing of racial, ethnic, or particular groups as a whole with the intention of destruction. It was considered to be the first and the last mass murder of humans after the Nazi’s holocaust incident, but time decided another way for it. There have been many incidents of genocide in history.
Purpose of Genocide Prevention
These include the Armenian genocide, European genocide, Cambodia, Rwanda, Sudan, and the Rohingya massacre, with a death toll of 10,000 (Genocide Watch, 1998). The paper gives insight into the theoretical and practical knowledge about the genocide and preventive campaigns by the peacemaker United Nations. The argument of genocide as preventable or unpreventable will be discussed by the data.
Genocide Convention and Legal Framework
The work on the prevention of genocidal incidents merged with the development of the convention of 1948 on the prevention and execution of genocidal criminals. The designed proposal contained the details of genocide in relation to the legislation system of various countries to be implemented. It highlighted a few things about genocide in the draft:
Acts Constituting Genocide
Article II of the convention declares the following acts crimes when committed with the intention to destroy or harm any specific group or ethnic group:
1. The murder of any specific group.
2. Mental harm and body torture to any particular group.
3. any act of Intentionally destroying the peace and life of the people.
4. Any limitations on birth within a particular group
5. Migration of the people to another group.
Humanitarian Purpose of the Convention
The whole convention’s objective was made clear to be adopted for the civilizing and humanitarian mission to protect the rights of humans and their existence for now and for future generations (Koko. WordPress, 2010).
Classification and Symbolization Stages
Genocide prevention is possible, but for this, it has to be done strategically through knowledge of the genocide process. Genocide happens in eight stages. The process starts with classification, the symbolization of cultures and people to distinguish them. The prevention at these early stages requires one to understand the middle ground for the prevention of genocide. The government should forbid specific tagging of people, such as banning yellow badge usage by the Jews as devised by the government to prevent the Nazi symbol for Jews from causing genocide.
Dehumanization and Hate Speech
The next stage is dehumanization, which makes the group less human from each other’s perspective. The prevention of dehumanization can be ensured by checking on the hate speeches delivered by the crowds, the leader’s denunciation of the use of hatred strategies as culturally acceptable, reduction in propaganda, and punishment for the creation of slaughters. Genocide happens with the involvement of military groups with particular groups. The prevention can be brought forward through the UN for the issuance of the ban on those specific people’s visas so that they cannot travel and be the source of propaganda in various other regions. A commission should be made to investigate the onset of genocide and violations on the state level.
Organization Polarization and Preparation
Extremist groups instigate hatred and differentiate propaganda among all classes. The government can ensure the ban on social interaction with these groups, security protocols to prevent other people from becoming victims of the extremists, and assistance in depriving the extremists of the means to carry out their plans. Refugee camps and armed-forces interventions should be prepared by the UN Security Council. The deployment of regional forces as backup must also be planned at the stage of extermination. The responsibility should be on the individual and state levels to derive possible preventive strategies and efforts to secure the rights of every individual (Stanton, H. G., 2003).
International Law and United Nations Responsibility
Genocide is a violation of foreign law. It is a subject of foreign policy, and the UN invited dispute and agreed executives of the legislation for the treaty process (Lawrence, 1991, p. 4-5). Policymakers in the UN have exclusive advisers on genocide early-warning signals who gather information from human rights personnel and all open sources around the world. The special advisor addresses the public about the onset of war crimes or genocides with the aim of reducing the risk of it. Recommendations for generations have helped bring peace to people. The policy advisor can use a particular strategy such as ethnocentric’ which states all humans are brought up with different cultures, languages, etc., and we all humans are the same. And no one is allowed to dehumanize others (Ulfelder, J., 2015).
Interfaith Leadership and International Justice
There should be the responsibility and inclusion of inter-religious leaders to deliver humanizing lectures and to promote compassion. It can eradicate ethnic genocide conflict among groups with shared ground culture thinking. The International Criminal Court is fulfilling its responsibility to arrest all the impure persons spreading genocide. The judicial system must prevail without any political involvement to save the criminals. The ICC has the right to exercise jurisdiction in any state over people involved in genocide. Special tribunals were established, such as the ICTR in Rwanda and the ICTY. They keep people from severe genocides. This accountability system for genocide criminals can prevent genocide.
Declining Rates of Genocidal Violence
The rate of genocide has diminished in the past century, and the intensity of violations against civilians has dropped. Progress in the reduction of genocide has resulted from the efforts of UN genocidal policies and initiatives (UN).
Conclusion on Preventing Genocide
Genocide is preventable. The need for prevention is to gain knowledge of genocide and develop models to assess the field. The United Nations has developed a proposal on genocide prevention and is strengthening the prevention of genocide. The work on a prevention strategy is growing daily, and it is possible.
References
Koko.Wordpress. Genocide: An Essay. 2010. https://kodiko.wordpress.com/2010/10/13/genocide-an-essay/.
Lawrence, J. L. “The United States and the genocide convention.” Lawrence, J. L. The United States, and the genocide convention. Duke University Press, 1991. 4-5. https://books.google.com.pk/books?id=H5KPAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false.
Stanton, H.G. How can we prevent genocide? 6 June 2003. https://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/COMM.6.24.03.HTM. 2003.
Ulfelder, J. Genocide is Going Out of Fashion. 14 May 2015. https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/05/14/genocide-is-going-out-of-fashion/. 2015.
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