13 Things You Need to Know About Genocide
1. The term was developed during World War II
In August of 1941, Winston Churchill publicly discussed the Nazis mass exterminations, saying: “We are in the presence of a crime without a name.” Raphael Lemkin, a Jewish lawyer who fled Poland, felt similarly and coined the term “genocide” in the midst of the Holocaust. The word comes from the Greek root “genos,” meaning “people,” and the Latin root “cide,” meaning “murder.” Lemkin spent the rest of his life advocating for the international community to recognize the term genocide. In 1948 his dream came true, but with certain limitations. When Lemkin died in 1957, he was working on a definitive theory of genocide, in which he espoused that genocide is the intentional attempted destruction of all perceived aspects of the human cosmos. In other words, by attacking one specific aspect of society or culture the act of genocide is destroying the structure of humanity. This means that disrupting the cultural balance or preventing an aspect of society from existing is a genocide against that group. This inclusive definition was dramatically limited in the United Nations Convention.
2. Genocide is a very specific type of violence
Genocide is a unique type of violence that targets civilian groups. In its most basic form, genocide is understood as the intention to destroy a group. After that part, however, the disagreement begins. Scholars, lawyers, and policymakers have differing opinions about which groups should be protected under the definition of genocide, but they agree that the defining feature of genocide is the intention to remove a certain group of people from society based on the characteristics of identity. The brutality of genocide is based on the idea that a group of people does not deserve to live, that they must be dehumanized, marginalized, and finally removed. Genocide changes the history and culture of societies through systematic extermination of populations based on unchangeable and morally irrelevant aspects of their identity.
3. Genocide is illegal under international law
Thanks to Lemkin’s dedication, the United Nations ratified the Convention on the Prevention of Genocide in 1948. In total, the document was ratified by 147 countries. As a result, the official legal definition is:
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
4. There is no minimum death toll
Often, people think that a particular number of people or a certain percent of the population has to die to constitute genocide. False. The definition of genocide is rooted in intention, not quantity. The most important thing is that the killers are trying to destroy the group of people “in whole or in part.” Also, as the legal definition explains, groups can be destroyed or damaged through methods other than death. Technically, genocide could be perpetrated without a single person’s direct death.
Scholars contend that the Stolen Generation in Australia is an example of a different kind of genocide, where aboriginal children were forcibly separated from their families for over fifty years. This counts as the forcible transfer of children away from a group as well as imposed measures to prevent or limit reproduction in the group. With the Stolen Generation, the Australian government committed acts of genocide against aboriginals without direct deaths.
5. No region of the world has a monopoly on genocide
Many of us have a tendency to think of genocide as a peculiarly “African” or “third-world” problem. Based on Lemkin’s more inclusive definition, there have been more than twenty genocides since 1900. These have been perpetrated on every inhabited continent. The map shows countries where genocidal violence has occurred. It is dangerous to think that this is only a problem for “poor countries.” All societies are susceptible to the power of hate and discrimination.
6. It is an ongoing problem
The most commonly discussed genocides are the Holocaust, Cambodia, and Rwanda. It is a problem which has been relegated to the 20th century, and sometimes it seems like we have progressed beyond this tragic phenomenon. The 21st century, however, has suffered the same patterns of violence as the previous years. Today, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum maintains a watch-list of countries in danger of genocidal violence and human rights issues. The most recent is the violence against the Yazidi ethnic minority in Iraq and Syria by ISIS, which has been recognized by the U.S. State Department.
7. Genocide recognition is politically motivated
Recognizing genocide, like accomplishing anything else in the international system, is motivated by politics. When the Genocide Convention was signed, the sitting members of the Security Council dictated the terms of the definition. Since then other issues of recognition and memorialization have been motivated by state and international politics. For example, many nations refuse to recognize the Armenian genocide. The Turkish government denies that it happened and Turkey is a NATO member and powerful actor in the region, so allied nations such as the United States continue to deny or downplay the genocide. The politicization of human rights is problematic. It sets a precedent that gross violations of rights will be ignored if the perpetrator is powerful enough.
8. Victims are dehumanized and “othered” from society
By the time genocide starts, the population has usually been ostracized from society through legal, social, and political means. This takes many forms, but it exaggerates the tensions between groups, creates stereotypes, and generates an us-versus-them mentality. During the Holocaust this started with the legal segregation and oppression of the Jews with the 1933 Nuremburg Laws. In Rwanda it was the hate speech broadcast over Radio Rwanda and RTLM. If the genocidaires can convince the people that the targets of violence are subhuman, then it makes it easier to commit violent acts against them.
9. Genocide is not a product of “age-old tensions” or “ancient hatreds”
There are different theories, but genocidal violence is built in a society. It is not an escalation of age-old tensions, tribalism, or savagery. Any population is susceptible to genocide. The escalation of violence is based on the national leadership, the construction of a hateful ideology, and a perceived threat to the population. Genocide is about contemporary politics and history being manipulated to serve the goals of the in-group.
10. The categories of violence form a spectrum
The categories of bystander, perpetrator, and resistor are malleable. People can easily transition between categories. Sometimes people think of them as set in stone, but violence is a spectrum and participants’ positions can change constantly. Lee Ann Fujii, a genocide scholar, has illustrated a basic image of violence, shown above. People have the capability and agency to transition between categories and change their reaction to violence.
11. Countries Struggle with the Period Following Genocide
Most countries that have experienced genocide have trouble dealing with the aftermath of the violence. There is little protocol on how societies should try to reconcile victims with perpetrators of human rights violations. Emotions run high after conflict. There is a complex mix of guilt, anger, revenger, and a pursuit of blind justice. Problems manifest in different ways. In Cambodia, Bosnia, Poland, and other places there was retaliation violence against those who sympathized with genocidaires. The history of the conflict is rewritten by whoever takes control of the regime; justice for victims is often politically motivated. Genocide does not really end the day the violence stops; the international community needs to tend to the healing and reconciliation of these communities.
12. “Never again” is an empty phrase
Sometime in the aftermath of the Holocaust, a politician uttered the prophetic words that the world would “never again” experience genocide. This phrase was written into the 1948 Genocide Convention and the vocabulary of every public figure that addresses the issue of genocide. It is a cynical reality, but if the death toll is high enough, politicians begin apologizing, but not necessarily acting. We heard it after the Holocaust, after Cambodia, after Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur. Once the bodies have been exhumed and catalogued in Iraq and Syria we will hear it once again in reference to the genocidal violence being committed by ISIS. When studying and advocating for genocide prevention, do not trust these words. Survivors and activists have been placated with the words “never again” for over seventy years. It is time we turn to a more preventative and engaged rhetoric. When holding our leaders accountable in this sphere, we cannot accept this excuse. Never again is not good enough.
13. There is something you can do about it
Genocide prevention seems like a daunting undertaking, for anyone, especially if you have a limited knowledge of the subject. So what can you do? If genocide makes you angry, so much so that you want to do something, then your options are limitless. You do not have to be an activist; there is an international community of individuals who are ready to support one another. The first thing to do is to become familiar with your representatives in government and pending atrocity prevention legislation, such as the Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act of 2016. Then write them. Call them. Make it clear that their constituents will not tolerate apathy.
In addition, you can get involved with #TogetherWeRemember, a global movement to bring awareness to the issue of genocide. Next week, on April 10th and 11th, there will be a global reading of names of persons who died in genocides since 1900. Individually, these problems seem unconquerable, but together we can diligently wage peace.
