Title: BBC - Ethics - War: War crimes
Headings: War crimes
War crimes
On this page
War crimes
War crimes
Historical note
Victor's justice
What acts are war crimes?
Crimes against peace
War crimes
Crimes against humanity
Responsibility for such crimes
Superior orders
Genocide
Genocide
Definition
Difficulties
Modern alleged genocides

Content: killing members of the group
causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group
deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part
imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group
forcibly transferring children of the group to another group
Individuals are chosen as victims purely, simply and exclusively because they are members of the target group, and not because of anything an individual has done. Genocide is a crime under international law even if it is not a crime in the country where it takes place, and incitement to commit genocide is also a crime. Difficulties
The definition of genocide above is considered too narrow by many experts. They say that none of the mass killings since the treaty's adoption would be covered by it. The objections most frequently raised against the treaty include: the convention excludes targeted political and social groups, such as the middle classes, the Kulaks and the intelligentsia. it is limited to direct acts against people, and excludes acts against the environment which sustains them or their cultural distinctiveness, for example the destruction of Tibetan culture by the Chinese
proving intention beyond reasonable doubt is extremely difficult
UN member states are hesitant to single out other members or intervene, as was the case in Rwanda
there is no body of international law to clarify the parameters of the convention
this will change as UN war crimes tribunals issue indictments
the difficulty of defining or measuring 'in part'
the difficulty of establishing how many deaths equal genocide
Rafael Lemkin, who invented the word said that genocide involved the
disintegration of the political and social institutions, of culture, language, national feelings, religion, and the economic existence of national groups, and the destruction of the personal security, liberty, health, dignity, and even the lives of the individuals belonging to such groups. Modern alleged genocides
This incomplete list of modern genocides includes a number of alleged genocides, where there is still argument about whether the action amounted to genocide, or where judicial proceedings are not complete. Armenia 1915-1923: Armenians say about 1.5 million people were slaughtered by Ottoman Turks between 1915 and 1923.