Or perhaps you don't.
Genocide is the intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group in whole or in part, as defined by the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. It involves acts such as killing members of the group, causing serious harm, inflicting conditions calculated to cause destruction, preventing births, or forcibly transferring children. The term was coined by Raphael Lemkin, derived from the Greek "genos" (race) and Latin "cide" (killing), and it is a crime under international law.
Key Aspects of Genocide
- Intent to Destroy: The most crucial element of genocide is the specific intent to destroy a targeted group.
- Protected Groups: The definition applies to national, ethnic, racial, and religious groups.
- Specific Acts: The convention lists five prohibited acts that, if committed with genocidal intent, constitute genocide:
- Killing members of the group.
- Causing serious bodily or mental harm.
- Deliberately inflicting conditions of life intended to bring about physical destruction.
- Imposing measures to prevent births within the group.
- Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
