Genocide and crime against humanity final

Genocide and Crime against Humanity“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

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B y P a l a k A g r a w a l

What is Genocide?

“Genocide is a form of onesided mass ki l l ing in which astate or other author i ty intendsto destroy a group, as thatgroup and membership in i t aredef ined by the perpetrator”

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Genocide.

Geno – from theGreek wordgenos, meaningbirth, race of asimilar kind.

-cide- fromLatin cida,meaning tocut, kill.

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The Armenian Genocide

• 1915-23

• Death toll up to 1.5 Million.

• Perpetrators: Ottoman Turkish.

• During and after World War 1.

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History of Genocide

• The term Genocide was coined by Raphael Lemkin, duringWorld War II to describe the crimes committed against the Jewsby the Nazis.

• In reaction to the Genocide carried out by the Nazis, the UNgeneral assembly adopted the convention on the prevention andpunishment of the crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention ) in1948.

• Article II of the convention marked the first time that the crimewas formulated in an international legal instrument.

• The working of the crime was adopted verbatim into article 4 (2 ) of the ICTY ( International Criminal Tribunal for the formerYugoslavia ) and Article 2 ( 2 ) of ICTR ( International CriminalTribunal for Ravanda ) Statute. The same applies to Article 6 of

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The United Nation’s Definition

“ Genocide means any of the following acts committed with an intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a

national, ethical, racial or religious group, as such:a) Killing members of the group;b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members

of the crew;c) Deliberately inflicting on the group such conditions of

life calculated to bring about its physical destructionin whole or in part;

d) Imposing measure intended to prevent births withinthe group;

e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another6

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Genocide in Pictures.

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Essential Requirements toConstitute Genocide

• Killing [Art. 6 ( a ) of the ICC Statute.]The perpetrator must have caused the death of at leastone member of the group.

• Causing serious bodily or mental harm [ Art. 6 ( b ) ofthe ICC Statute ]

The perpetrator must have caused serious bodily ormental harm to at least one member of the group. Thiscan encompass ( Psychological ) Torture, Mutilation orother serious damage. It is not required that the harmis permanent or irreversible; a mere temporary physicalor mental impairment, however, is sufficient. 8

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Essential Requirements toConstitute Genocide

• Inflicting destructive conditions of life [ Art. 6 ( c ) ofICC Statute ].

The perpetrator must have inflicted condition of life ona group that are calculated to bring about its physicaldestruction in whole or in part. The provision prohibitsso called slow death measures, i.e., conduct that doesnot kill immediately but that can ( and is intended to )bring about the death of a group of members over thelong term.Possible conduct includes :

Forced Labour

Deportation

Imprisonment in concentration camps

Withholding necessities such as food, clothing, shelter or medical care.

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Essential Requirements toConstitute Genocide

• Imposing measures to prevent births [ Art. 6 ( d ) ofthe ICC Statute ]

This prohibition encompasses the imposition ofmeasures aimed at preventing births within the groupsand thereby targeting its continued biological existence,such as sterilization, forced birth control, prohibition onmarriage, segregation of sexes and rape if it causesthe victim to decide not to reproduce because of thetrauma suffered.

• Forcibly transferring children of the group to anothergroup [ Art. 6 ( e ) of the ICC statute ]

This provision seeks to prevent children from being torn10

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Stages of Genocide

1. Classification2. Symbolization3. Dehumanization4. Organization5. Polarization6. Preparation7. Genocide8. Denial

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Genocides in 20th CenturyDecisions given by ICTR ( International Criminal Tribunal for Rawanda)

Prosecutor Vs. Akayesu [ICTR-96-4-T]

Akayesu not only refrained from stopping the killings,but also personally supervised the murder of variousTutsis. Akayesu was sentenced to life imprisonment byICTR.

Prosecutor Vs. Kayishema [ICTR-95-1-T]

Fulgence Kayishema ordered the killing of Tutsis insideNyange church, and brought fuel for use by theInterahamwe militia to attempt to burn down the church.

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Continued…

Decisions given by ICTY ( International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia)

Prosecutor Vs. Jelisic [IT-98-33-ICTY]

He was alleged to have, every day, "entered Luka’s mainhangar, where most detainees were kept, selecteddetainees for interrogation, beat them and then often shotand killed them. He was sentenced to 40 yearsimprisonment.

Prosecutor Vs. Krstic[IT-95-10-T-ICTY]

He was the major general at Bosnian Serb Army. Krsticbecame the first man convicted of genocide by theTribunal.He was sentenced to 45 years of imprisonment.

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Present Scenario in ICC(21 cases in 9 situations have been brought before the ICC)

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Genocide scene.From the movie Schindler’s List.

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Crime against Humanity

“ Al l humani ty is one undiv ided andindiv is ib le fami ly, and each one of usis responsible for the misdeeds of al lthe others. I cannot detach mysel f f romthe wickedest soul . “- Mahatma Gandhi

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What is Crime against Humanity?According to the international criminal code

• Murder• Genocide• Slavery• Indefinite imprisonment without a trial• Torture• Forced pregnancy• Rape• Apartheid• Disappearance and others. 17

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Thank You.“ I b e l i e v e i f t h e p e o p l e k n o w w h a t i s h a p p e n i n g , t h e yw i l l h e l p t o s t o p i t ” .

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Spec ia l Thanks to P ro f . V ivek Nemane .