What conflicts count as genocide and which ones do not? Why? Genocide has been a long debated issue, with many people trying to come up with new ways of defining it, mainly to help them understand the sheer nature of horror behind these terrible crimes. The negative connotation associated this term has been notorious for its vast manipulation of people especially when trying to magnify a situation and therefore giving it the necessary amount of attention. This term has been in the forefront of many national and international stories, for many years. However, some genocides have been inclined to more publicity than others. Hence, this essay will be exploring the reasons behind this phenomenon, mainly the reasons behind the vast amounts of …show more content…
He was single handedly able to redefine the way we look at genocide. His definition would ultimately be used in many “famous” court cases namely NUERBURG, as well as being referenced in many books…etc. but to understand the usefulness of such word, we need to look back at Raphael Lemkins origins for this word. Lemkins definition steams from his initial ideas of criminalizing barbarity and Vandalism, which he established in 1933 during the Madrid conference. Lemkin strongly believed that ‘barbarity ’ which is the “acts of extermination directed against ethnic, religious and social collectives whatever the motive (political, religious, etc.” as well as ‘vandalism’ which is the “ Destruction of works of art and culture, being the expression of the particular genius of these collectives” served as the initial signs of genocide and thereby criminalizing them might eliminate/prevent it in the future. However, his proposal was rejected. In 1944 in Lemkins wildly referenced book he defined genocide as:
”Genocide has two phases: one, destruction of the national pattern of the oppressed group; the other, the imposition of the national pattern of the oppressor. This imposition in turn may be made upon the oppressed population, which is allowed to remain or upon the territory alone, after removal of the population and the colonization of the area by the oppressor’s own
"Eight Stages of Genocides." Genocides and Conflicts. William Mitchell College of Law, 2012. Web. 15 Apr. 2014. .
To start off with, what is genocide? Genocide is the killing of a massive number of people of in a group. Genocide has not only been practices in the present day, but it has been practiced for m...
The label of “genocide” can be an indefinite term, much like a binary model of examination, where discrepancies are not simply viewed as right or wrong, but rather with multidirectional perspectives. With respect to the atrocities the Native Americans endured, it is important to determine how to label the events based on the formal definition of Raphael Lemkin’s genocide which, in short, is defined as the intent to kill or destroy a specific group of people based on race, ethnicity or religious affiliations (Convention). I strongly assert that it is essential to define the Native American case study initially as genocide. With such a strong label, most will gravitate towards it and express more interest. However, that attention is more than
Since Burundi’s independence in 1962, there have been two instances of genocide: the 1972 mass killings of Hutus by the Tutsi-dominated government, and the 1993 mass killings of the Tutsis by the Hutu populace. Both of these events in Burundi received different levels of attention by the international community and the western media due to a lack of foreign governmental interest, political distraction, and an unwillingness to acknowledge the severity of these atrocities in Burundi. Interestingly, events of genocide occurring at times without these distractions received more foreign attention than those ignored due to these factors. Because of this, much of the western world is unaware of the Burundian genocide and events similar to it.
Human rights violations, unfortunately, have been common in all parts of the world for thousands of years. Not all abuses lead to world attention or mass causalities, but large-scale tragedies that do gain notice often involve the use of propaganda. Propaganda has often been used to promote an individual leader, political party or government’s agenda, which will often tyrannize specific groups. The definition of propaganda according to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary and for this paper is, “the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person.” One of the major questions many have when investigating the causes of genocide and why average citizens often accept and at time tolerate mass violence and permit their friends and neighbors rights to be taken away. To understand this issue we must look to past examples of propaganda that demoralized and demonized entire communities that eventually lead to genocide. During the Nazi rule in Germany and the genocide in Rwanda in the mid-1990s there have been clear cases where misinformation has been used in order promote violence and repress the rights of citizens. More often than not, similar manipulation and deception techniques have been used during these periods to oppress the basic rights of groups and individuals. Germany and Rwanda both exercised comparable methods such as emotional manipulation, media and demonization of minority/weaker groups in order to harm/eliminate large sectors of the population. Overall, propaganda is often a tool used to commit massive manipulation and rationalization for large-scale human rights violations.
When a group feels as if their existence is threatened by another group, the only solution to their problem is the extermination of the opposing group. Genocide is also used to carry out systematic efforts in destroying enemies which will send out warning to other potential enemies. Acquiring economic wealth by destroying a group which stands in the way of that benefit is also another reason genocide is carried out. Finally, to create a “pure race” which means everyone practices the same way, follows the same culture, and the group who does not fit the guidelines, will be exterminated. The Center on Law and Globalization is a charitable organization which presents news about devastating problems in countries across the world. Its authors are reporters and journalist who experience firsthand the problems these countries are facing. In the article, Why Do Genocides Occur? Published by the Center on Law and Globalization, the conditions under which genocide usually occurs includes: when the victims are excluded, which means they have lost their citizenship and denied their rights, in crisis, when their government is in ruins, or in a dictatorial
Genocide is a huge problem in today’s society. While there are laws set down to handle cases where genocide occurs, the idea and premise of genocide and all that it entails is still widely debatable. It’s difficult to put a label and definition on a term that, while it has a long history of existence, is very rare and unknown to the common man. When I say rare, genocide only occurs in very extreme cases and situations, but it doesn’t make it any less of a horrible crime.
SAINATI, TATIANA E. "Toward A Comparative Approach To The Crime Of Genocide." Duke Law Journal 62.1 (2012): 161-202. Academic Search Premier. Web. 25 Nov. 2013
Both of these cases share similar characteristics, but because the genocides differed in motivations and certain key mechanisms, it can be concluded that each case holds its own uniqueness, therefore the differences outweigh the
Paradigms of Genocide: The Holocaust, The Armenian genocide, and Contemporary Mass Destructions, 156-168. Sage Publications Inc., 1996. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1048550
- The meaning of Genocide, and the impact it has on a single person and society.
When the Rwandan Hutu majority betrayed the Tutsi minority, a destructive mass murdering broke out where neighbor turned on neighbor and teachers killed their students; this was the start of a genocide. In this paper I will tell you about the horrors the people of Rwanda had to face while genocide destroyed their homes, and I will also tell you about the mental trauma they still face today.
The intentional murder of an enormous group of people is near unthinkable in today’s society. In the first half of the twentieth century, however, numerous authoritarian regimes committed genocide to undesirables or others considered to be a threat. Two distinct and memorably horrific genocides were the Holocaust perpetrated by Nazi Germany and the Holodomor by the Soviet Union. In the Holocaust, The Nazis attempted to eradicate all European Jews after Adolf Hitler blamed them for Germany’s hardship in recent years. During the Holodomor, Joseph Stalin and the Soviet Union attempted to destroy any sense of Ukrainian nationalism by intentionally starving and murdering Ukrainian people. The two atrocities can be thoroughly compared and contrasted through the eight stages of genocide. The Holocaust and Holodomor shared many minor and distinct similarities under each stage of genocide, but were mainly similar to the methods of organization, preparation, and extermination, and mainly differed
Various schools of thought exist as to why genocide continues at this deplorable rate and what must be done in order to uphold our promise. There are those who believe it is inaction by the international community which allows for massacres and tragedies to occur - equating apathy or neutrality with complicity to evil. Although other nations may play a part in the solution to genocide, the absolute reliance on others is part of the problem. No one nation or group of nations can be given such a respo...
Print. The. Hymowitz, Sarah, and Amelia Parker. " Lessons - The Genocide Teaching Project - Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Law." American University, Washington College of Law. American UniversityWashington College of Law Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, 2011.