9 December: Genocide Prevention Day
9 December is Genocide Prevention Day, marking the anniversary of the UN Genocide Convention.
Since 2015, the United Nations has marked the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime, which is often referred to as Genocide Prevention Day.
On this day, we remember victims of genocide. People around the world are encouraged to learn from the past, and take action to prevent future atrocities.
The date marks the United Nation’s adoption of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Following the horrors of the Holocaust, the convention outlined the international community’s commitment to ‘never again’ and defined genocide, a term which had been coined by Raphael Lemkin. The day after this, on 10 December 1948, the first human rights treaty was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations.
This short film explains more about the day.
