LIBRARY
POL/HTY 395: Genocide & Laws of War (Rimanelli): Genocide
What is Genocide?
"The term 'genocide' did not exist before 1944. It is a very specific term, referring to violent crimes committed against groups with the intent to destroy the existence of the group. Human rights, as laid out in the U.S. Bill of Rights or the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, concern the rights of individuals. "
[from United States Holocaust Memorial Museum website]
UN Convention on Genocide
The UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (December 1948) defines genocide as:
“…any of a number of acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group: killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part…”
- UN Convention on Genocide
The 19 Articles of the Convention.
What is Genocide?
- UN Convention on Genocide19 Articles of the Convention.
What is Genocide?
For someone to be convicted of genocide, it has to be proved that they had the intent to destroy – in totally or in part – a national, ethnic or religious group.
- U.S. Holocaust Memorial MuseumNumerous links, articles and information about genocide.
http://www.youtube.com/ushmm
In the words of a Rwandan killer:
- Rwandan StoriesRwandanStories is a great collection of video, photography and journalism exploring the origins, details and aftermath of the Rwandan genocide through the eyes of both survivors and perpetrators.
“You will never see the source of a genocide. It is buried too deep in grudges, under an accumulation of misunderstandings that we were the last to inherit. We came of age in the worst moment of Rwanda’s history: we were taught to obey absolutely, raised in hatred, stuffed with slogans. We are an unfortunate generation.”
Joseph-Desire, killer
Rwandan Stories
Suggested Websites
- Armenian GenocideResource library for teachers
- Genocide WatchInternational Alliance to end genocide. Founded on May 15, 1999 at the Hague Appeal for Peace Conference in the Netherlands.
- Human Rights WatchAugust 30, 2011
- Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights StudiesThe Institute seeks not only to uncover the underlying reasons for genocide and other crimes against humanity, but also to put forth concrete policy recommendations to resolve conflicts before they intensify and spiral into mass atrocity crimes.
- Waging PeaceWaging Peace (WP) is a non-governmental organisation that campaigns against genocide and systematic human rights abuses, with a particular focus on Sudan, Chad and the Central African Republic.
Human Rights blog
Organizations
- The Will to Intervene Project"...spearheading the fight against genocide by building domestic political will in Canada and the United States to prevent future mass atrocities." Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies
- Life StoriesLife Stories of Montrealers Displaced by War, Genocide, and other Human Rights Violations is an oral history project exploring Montrealers’ experiences and memories of mass violence and displacement. A team of both university and community-based researchers is in the process of recording life story interviews with more than 500 Montreal residents over the course of the next five years.
- EquitasEquitas - International Centre for Human Rights Education has forty years of experience in the development and delivery of human rights education programming in Canada and around the world.