Explain how true you think this statement is:
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
Genocide: A Legacy for the Twentieth Century
Holocaust- Destruction or slaughter on a mass scale.
Genocide- The deliberate killing of a large group of people, esp. those of a particular ethnic group or nation.
I. Terms
Article 2 of UN Convention Against Genocide In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts
committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: (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.
Article 3 of UN Convention Against Genocide The following acts shall be punishable:
(a) Genocide; (b) Conspiracy to commit genocide; (c) Direct and public incitement to commit genocide; (d) Attempt to commit genocide; (e) Complicity in genocide.
II. Rwanda 1994Partially a consequence
of the ignorance and unjust segregating by a foreign power
Tutsi- cattle-herding people who become the politically-dominant class
Hutu- farmers who lived in large family units
• Belgium (the colonizing power) encouraged ethnic division between two groups (Hutu and Tutsi)
• Believed Tutsi were superior, so treated them as the upper class
• Hutu were demoted to the lower-class, which later fueled a violent overthrow of Tutsi
Hate war exploded on April 6, 1994 when the president (a Hutu) was shot down in his airplane
Rumors spread that it was ordered by a Tutsi
Violence erupted against TutsiEscalated at an extreme pace and
800,000 Tutsi died in 3 months
Genocide widely ignored by international community
Why might they not want to get involved?
Should the int’l community have been involved?
United Nations (UN) sent troops, but after 10 died they withdrew until a clear victor was in sight
The US, Belgium and France all had knowledge of the situation, but took no action
“The Americans were interested in saving money, the Belgians were interested in saving face, and the French were interested in saving their ally, the genocidal government.” -Alison Des Forges, Rwanda scholar
III. Darfur 2003Centered around
Arab Muslims in north and African Muslim farmers/herders in southwestern region of Darfur
These groups are the same religion, but what differences might they have?
Local African tribes are suppressed by government-backed militia groups called the JanjaweedJanjaweed use
terror tactics like mass killings, rape and destruction of villages
Sudanese gov’t funds the Janjaweed with oil revenue
Children in the camps are encouraged to confront their psychological scars. The clay figures depict an attack by Janjaweed.
Recent estimates reported at least 300,000 dead and 1.8 million displaced
What does displaced mean?
What is an example of a displaced population?
•2006- Agreement signed to begin disarming Janjaweed
Who enforces?
•2010- Another peace agreement signed to try to end the conflict and help victims•2011- South Sudan votes to form its own country
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”- Dr. Martin Luther Kind, Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”- Edmund Burke, British statesman and orator (1729-1797)
Assignment: Using the information you have just learned about Darfur and Rwanda, choose one statement below and assess its validity.