Po prvi put Konvencija daje pravnu definiciju "genocida" koja je priznata na međunarodnoj razini. Na 69. zasjedanju Opće skupštine UN-a koja je održana 2017. godine 9. studeni je proglašen "Međunarodnim danom sjećanja i dostojanstva žrtava zločina genocida i sprečavanja tog zločina". Kratki uvid u zbivanja u 20. stoljeću koja posjećaju na strahote Danteove Božanstvene komedije, pomaže nam da shvatimo zašto komemoriranje i sjećanje, solidarnost i borba protiv nekažnjavanja genocida i danas ostaju presudno važni.

Riječ "genocid" je prvi upotrijebio poljski odvjetnik Raphael Lemkin 1944. godine. Riječ je nastala spajanjem grčkog izraza "genos" (što znači pleme ili potomak zajedničkog muškog pretka) i latinskog sufiksa "cide", što znači ubijanje. Lemkin je upotrijebio ovaj pojam za ubojstva počinjena u holokaustu od strane nacističkog režima, ali i za druga masovna ubojstva koja su počinjena kroz povijest. To je oblikovalo ono što će kasnije postati definicija genocida iz članka II Konvencije:

“U ovoj Konvenciji pod genocidom se podrazumijeva bilo koje od niže navedenih djela, počinjenih u namjeri da se potpuno ili djelomično uništi kao takva neka nacionalna, etnička, rasna ili vjerska skupina: a) ubojstvo članova skupine; b) teška povreda fizičkog ili mentalnog integriteta članova skupine; c) namjerno podvrgavanje skupine takvim životnim uvjetima koji dovode do njenog potpunog ili djelomičnog uništenja; d) mjere usmjerene ka sprječavanju rađanja u okviru skupine; e) prinudno premještanje djece iz jedne skupine u drugu“.

Jedan od ključnih elemenata izraza "genocid" je namjera. Mora postojati jasna namjera jedne skupine da “popuno ili djelomično“ uništi drugu (bez obzira na stupanj uspjeha) i da ova namjera bude dokaziva. Prema ovom kriteriju, bombardiranje Hirošime i Nagasakija, na primjer, ne smatra se genocidom, obzirom da iza napada stoji strateški cilj vojne pobjede unatoč njegovoj odvratnoj prirodi. Rasprava oko toga jesu li određeni događaji genocid ili ne se i dalje nastavlja, posebno s obzirom na to da je jako teško definirati "namjeru". Osim toga, u pravilu infrastruktura potrebna za počinjenje genocida je povezana s "postojanjem državnog ili organiziranog plana ili politike", iako definicija genocida u međunarodnom pravu ne spominje ovaj element.

Prvi slučaj onoga što se smatra genocidom u 20. stoljeću se nije dogodio u Europi već u jugozapadnoj Africi. Njemačke snage u Namibiji su svjesno pokušale istrijebiti narod Ovaherero u svojoj imperijalističkoj ekspanziji. Najprije nisu puštali ljude iz pustinje Namib, što je zbog gladovanja i dehidracije dovelo do smrti velikog broja ljudi, a nakom toga ubojstvima u koncentracijskim logorima, što je dovelo do smrti između 24.000 i 100.000 pripadnika naroda Ovaherera. Njemačka vlada je 2015. godine priznala ove aktivnosti genocidom, ali je odbila razmatrati pitanje reparacija.

U druge zloglasne slučajeve genocida u 20. stoljeću se ubrajaju masovno ubojstvo Armenaca u Osmanskom carstvu (1915-1923), Holokaust (1941-1945), Kambodžanski genocid koji je izvršila stranka Crvenih Kmera na čelu s Pol Potom (1975-1979) i genocida u Ruandi (1994. godine) kada su snage naroda Hutu počinile masovni pokolj naroda Tutsi.

Holokaust je nesumnjivo bio ključna točka u jačanju međunarodnih obveza u borbi protiv genocida. Širenje fotografija koje prikazivale strahote nacističkih koncentracijskih logora je doprinjelo stvaranju konsenzusa oko potrebe da se spriječi ponavljanje takvih zvjerstava. Istovremeno, patnja određenih naroda je uvelike pala u drugi plan. To se odnosi i na genocid nad Romima, poznat kao Porajmos, u kojemu je ubijeno na tisuće Roma širom Europe. Iako se Porajmosu pridaje veća pozornost od 90-ih godina, općeniti nedostatak informacija je i dalje prisutan, što rezultira manjkom priznanja romskih stradanja i kompenzacijskih mjera za romsku zajednicu.

Važno je istaknuti kako neki stručnjaci i dalje sumnjaju u sposobnost UN-a sprječiti genocid. U izvještaju koji je Brahimi na zahtjev UN-a pripremio 2000. godine, Vijeće sigurnosti UN-a je izloženo kritici zbog postojeće tendencije ''odobravanja mirovnih operacija bez osiguravanja odgovarajuće kvalitete i količine financijskih i ljudskih resursa potrebnih za rješavanje sigurnosnih izazova s kojima bi se moglo suočiti na terenu''. Tvrdnje o zakašnjelim mjerama s ciljem spječavanja genocida se često pojavljuju u vezi s akcijama UN-a.

Možda najgori od nedavnih slučajeva je progon i ubojstva pripadnika naroda Rohingya od strane snaga Mjanmara. Ti zločini su ove godine potakli Međunarodni sud pravde da donese hitne mjere koje bi mjanmarska vlada trebala provesti kako bi spriječila genocid. U ovom slučaju je UN bio također izložen kritici zbog ignoriranja kršenja ljudskih prava i mogućnosti masovnih ubojstava u zemlji prije 2017. godine.

Aktivnosti koje vode UN, države članice i drugi međunarodni subjekti u cilju sprječavanja  i kažnjavanja genocida su od velike važnosti. Niz mehanizama koji su trenutno na snazi mogu biti korisni u sprječavanju okrutnosti. Međutim, čini se da je potrebno više napora i posvećenosti više strana kako bi se zaustavio genocid i kako bi se oni koji su odgovorni za neljudsko ponašanje suočili s posljedicama svojih postupaka s ciljem kažnjavanja, ali i opće prevencije budućih zločina genocida.

 

 

On the 9th of December 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (known as the 'Genocide Convention'), its first Human Rights treaty. This Convention symbolises a total commitment both at national and international level to work together in the prevention and punishment of genocide. Signing Member States recognize in this way the importance to stand against extreme human rights violations, promote peace and ensure respect for basic human life and dignity.

The Convention also provides the first legal definition of 'genocide' which is recognised internationally. In 2017, the 69th UN General Assembly declared the 9th of November the 'International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime'. Taking a brief look at the Dantesque developments of the 20th century can be useful to understand why remembrance, solidarity and the struggle against impunity in genocide remain of crucial importance today.

The word 'genocide' was first coined by Polish lawyer Raphael Lemkin in 1944. He derived it from the combination of the Greek term 'genos' (meaning tribe or the descent from a common male ancestor), and the Latin suffix 'cide' (meaning killing). He based this concept on the Holocaust killings perpetrated by the Nazi regime, but also from other mass killings that took place over history. It shaped what would later become the Convention's definition of genocide (Article II):

''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: 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.''

One key element of the term 'genocide' relates to intentionality. There has to be a clear intention from one group to ''in whole or in part'' destroy another (regardless of the degree of success), and be demonstrable. According to this criterion, the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki would for example not count as genocide, given the strategic goal of military victory behind the attack, despite its despicable nature. Debate around whether specific events constituted genocide or not continues to be intense, especially considering that 'intent' can be difficult to define. Besides, usually the infrastructure required to commit genocide is associated to 'the existence of a State or organizational plan or policy', even if the international law definition of genocide does not include this component.

The first case of what is considered genocide in the 20th century took place not in Europe but in South-West Africa. German forces in Namibia knowingly attempted to exterminate the Ovaherero people in their quest for imperialist expansion. First through a refusal to let people leave the Namib desert, which led to widespread death by starvation and dehydration, then through concentration camps, the killings led to the death of between 24,000 to 100,000 Ovaherero members. In 2015, the German government recognised these actions as genocide, however it has refused to consider reparations.

Other infamous cases of 20th century genocide include the mass killing of Armenians in the hands of the Ottoman Empire (1915-1923), the Holocaust (1941-1945), the Cambodian genocide committed by the Khmer Rouge party led by Pol Pot (1975-1979) and the Rwandan genocide (1994) which saw the mass slaughter of Tutsis committed by Hutu forces.

The Holocaust was, without doubt, a key determinant in the strenghtening of an international commitment against genocide. The circulation of photographic material showing the horrors of Nazi concentration camps guided a policy of consensus around the need to prevent these atrocities ever happening again. In the process, however, the suffering of certain groups was, to a large extent, left aside. Such was the case of the Roma genocide, known as Porrajmos, which sieged the lives of thousands or Roma across Europe. Although greater attention has been paid to Porrajmos since the 90s, general lack of awareness remains, also translating into a lack of recognition and compensatory measures for the Roma community.

It is pertinent to point out that some experts have remained sceptical regarding the UN's ability to follow its word in the task of preventing genocide. The Brahimi Report, comissioned by the UN in 2000, criticised UN Security Council for a tendency to ''approve peacekeeping mandates without making available the quality and quantity of financial and manpower resources required to meet the security challenge likely to arise in the field". Allegations of late action in terms of prevention of genocidal processes have often surrounded UN actions.

Perhaps the most influential recent case has been the persecution and killings of Rohingya peoples by Myanmar's forces, which led the International Court of Justice to issue immediate measures this year to be taken by Myanmar's government for genocide prevention. Here again, criticism of the UN for ignoring human right violations and the potentiality of mass killings prior to 2017 in the country has been common.

In brief conclusion, the activities led by the UN, Member States and other international entities in the effort to prevent and punish genocide are of great importance. A number of mechanisms currently in place are beneficial in the prevention of brutality. It seems, however, that a lot more effort and commitment is required from multiple parties to ensure genocidal practices come to an end, and that those who are responsible for inhumane behaviour face the consequences of their actions with the aim of punishing but also general prevention of future crimes of genocide.