About the Genocides
The term “genocide” was first used in 1943 by the Polish-Jewish lawyer Raphael Lemkin. The word was coined from the Greek word “Genos” meaning family, tribe or race and the Latin “cide” meaning killing. Lemkin campaigned for recognition of the “extermination of human groups” as a crime based originally on the murder of almost 2 million Armenians by Turks during the First World War.
Following the Holocaust Lemkin continued his campaign to have the now named crime of genocide recognised as such by the international community. At the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg in 1945 which tried senior Nazi officials on the charge of “crimes against humanity” the word genocide was included in the indictment in descriptive but not legal terms.
On 11 December 1946 the General Assembly of the United Nations resolved that genocide was a crime under international law. This was approved and ratified as a “Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide” on 9 December 1948. The Convention defines genocide as:
“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.”
A number of specific actions have been deemed to be punishable under the Convention. These are:
a.“Genocide;
b.Conspiracy to commit genocide;
c.Direct and public incitement to commit genocide;
d.Attempt to commit genocide;
e.Complicity in genocide.”
Actions do not need to lead to deaths to be considered to be acts of genocide – causing serious bodily or mental harm or the deprivation of resources such as clean water, food, shelter or medical services can be regarded as inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about physical destruction. Causing seriously bodily or mental harm includes the infliction of widespread torture, rape and sexual violence. It is also a criminal offence to plan or incite genocide – even before the killing starts. This recognises that genocide does not just happen. There is always a path which leads to the occurrence of a genocide.
The Path to Genocide
Genocide never just happens. There is always a set of circumstances which occur which create the climate which allows genocide to take place.
Gregory H Stanton the President of Genocide Watch developed the “8 Stages of Genocide” which explains the different stages which lead to genocide. At each of the earlier stages there is the opportunity offered to members of the community or by the international community to prevent the development of the stages and stop genocide before it happens.
The stages are:
Classification
When people are categorised by their ethnicity, race, religion or nationality it creates societies which are more likely to accept genocide. To help prevent genocide it is important to create a common identity which respects differences but does not categorise people by their beliefs and heritage.
Symbolisation
Symbols are applied to members of groups which have been classified. The Nazis forced Jews to wear yellow stars and in Cambodia people from the Eastern Zone wore blue scarfs. Denial of symbolisation can be a powerful weapon in the fight against genocide.
Classification and Symbolisation are universal traits; people choose to classify themselves depending on parts of their identity and will choose to wear symbols of their faith, race or nationality. Classification and Symbolisation lead to genocide when they are forced upon people and followed by a process of Dehumanisation.
Dehumanisation
Dehumanisation occurs when members of one group – usually the dominant group – deny the humanity of another. This can be done by equating people to animals, insects, vermin or diseases. In Rwanda Tutsis were often referred to as cockroaches and Nazi propaganda equated Jews to (among other things) “poisonous mushrooms”, spiders and snakes with poisonous fangs. Propaganda images used, particularly by the Nazis, exaggerate physical features to further dehumanise members of the target group. Hate propaganda is used at this stage in print and in various media forms. One of the most important ways to combat dehumanisation is by ensuring that hate crimes are punished and that media which transmit propaganda are shut down.
Organisation
Genocide is always organised, usually by the state and often using militia such as the Janjaweed in Darfur rather than state forces. To stop genocide at this stage membership of militia should be outlawed, although it may be difficult to enforce this in states where the militia has the approval of the government.
Polarisation
The separation between different groups which has been started is now enshrined through the continuation of propaganda and the development of legislation. Moderates from the group carrying out the genocide will be the first to be targeted – in Rwanda for example moderate Hutus including the Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana were arrested and many killed before the attacks on Tutsis began.
Preparation
The preparation continues by the removal of the targeted group from society – by housing in ghettos or imprisonment in concentration camps. Concentration camps – used extensively by the Nazis were also used in Bosnia, the most infamous being the Ormaska Camp where between 5,000 and 6,000 non-Serbs were murdered. The international community can offer assistance by armed intervention or at the least, humanitarian aid.
Extermination
This is the stage where killings occur, following the six previous stages which have created a situation where mass murder is accepted as the victim group has had its humanity removed.
Denial
This is the final stage and always follows genocide. Perpetrators attempt to cover up their actions by destroying the evidence of their crimes, burning bodies and intimidating witnesses. There is often an attempt to blame victims for the actions. Leaders may be forced into exile such as Pol Pot who was forced to flee to the jungles of Cambodia or Nazi war criminals who escaped across the world, particularly to South America. Denial can be combated by ensuring that international criminal courts prosecute and punish perpetrators.
Mass killings are almost the final stage of a genocide process which begins with bullying, exclusion and abuse. If the first stages can be stopped or lessened it will make the act of genocide much less likely to be allowed to occur.
What We Can Do
While the idea of each of us individually stopping a genocide occurring is difficult to believe there are actions that we can each take which will help to create a society in which the development of genocide from the earliest stages of exclusion can be prevented. Everyone can make the choice to challenge exclusion where we see it happening – for example we can choose to stop using language which dehumanises others and we can stop our friends and family from dehumanising and excluding others. When organising events in our communities we can ensure that we include as many people as possible to ensure that polarisation does not take place.
We can choose to complain to newspapers when we feel that they are using language which creates conflict between people from different races or religions or use language which demeans people because of their sexuality or disability. If you feel that a law which has been introduced or is being debated victimises one group of people you can contact your elected representatives or peacefully campaign against it.
We can also choose to report hate crime where we see it taking place – an important step in ensuring that the preparation stage of genocide can be challenged. You can report hate crime at www.report-it.org.uk and you do not have to be the victim of the crime to report that it has taken place.
You can also challenge genocide by commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day and pledging to remember the victims of the Holocaust and later genocides. Denial is one of the eight stages of genocide and by remembering victims we challenge denial.
It may seem impossible for us as individuals to do something to challenge atrocities which are being carried out across the world, however there are actions that we can all take which will make a difference. You can donate money or time to charities which help the survivors and victims of genocide and which campaign to protest against events such as the ongoing atrocities in Darfur or you can press your elected representatives or international organisations to remember the responsibilities which are laid out in international law and are designed to protect against the occurrence of genocide. Organisations such as the Aegis Trust, the Refugee Council and Amnesty International campaign on these issues and you can find out more by visiting their websites.
It may seem that we as individuals can achieve relatively minor changes however if we all choose to stand up to hatred and to stop the first, seemingly small actions which lead to genocide we can make a difference to the lives of others in our own community and across the world.
