Genocide: Prevention Through Nonmilitary Measures

• Author: Major Joseph A. Keeler
• Pages: 03

2002] GENOCIDE PREVENTION 135

GENOCIDE: PREVENTION THROUGH NONMILITARY MEASURES

MAJOR JOSEPH A. KEELER1

Genocide is the ultimate crime and the gravest violation of human rights it is possible to commit.2

Genocide is horrible, an abomination of our species, and totally unacceptable. It is an obscenity-the evil of our time that all good people must work to eradicate.3

I. Introduction

Genocide is the vilest, most abhorrent form of aggression.4 It should be a word of antiquity, not a vexing plague in our modern, civilized world. Yet millions of innocent men, women, and children have been slaughtered in this century.5 In fact, in the last decade alone, almost one million lives were lost to genocide.6 It is astonishing that with a technologically and

socially advanced world, the international community has not yet found a solution to genocide.

Significant efforts to prevent genocide germinated with the creation of the United Nations (U.N.),7 which was established to promote peace and prevent conflict.8 Shortly after the U.N. was organized, the General Assembly drafted a Convention for the prevention of genocide, the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide

(Genocide Convention), dated 9 December 1948.9 The Genocide Convention entered into force on 12 January 1951.10

Although the Genocide Convention was a positive step11-over 132 nations have signed or acceded to it-neither it nor the U.N. has been able to prevent genocide.12 In fact, three recent genocides in Cambodia,13 Yugoslavia,14 and Rwanda15 occurred in U.N.-member countries that had signed or acceded to the Genocide Convention.16 Even though the Genocide Convention and the U.N. have been unable to prevent genocide, ne

ther is a futile idea.17 In truth, both are essential ingredients of the solution.18

This article proposes the use of nonmilitary measures to prevent genocide. Military intervention can end genocide; however, offense-oriented armed intervention by the U.N. or under authorization of the U.N. generally does not occur until after thousands or hundreds of thousands of people have been slaughtered.19 The key to preventing genocide is to quash it at its embryonic stage.20

To prevent genocide without military intervention, one must ascertain its causes and indicators. When the indicators are known, information gathering and assessment will be more efficient and timely, and this will enhance the effectiveness of an early warning system.21 A properly functioning early warning system will permit the international community to intervene, with nonmilitary measures, at the nascent stage of genocide or soon thereafter to extinguish its flame before it becomes a conflagration.22

In addition, action by the international community must be quick, effective, and occur wherever the problem of genocide exists.

To formulate a nonmilitary solution, this article discusses and analyzes the Genocide Convention, the U.N., and the genocides in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnia-Herzegovina) and Rwanda.23 Section II reviews the vital elements of the Genocide Convention. Section III briefly outlines the U.N. and discusses its ability to alter or control conduct of leaders in sovereign nations. This is important because the ironic tragedy of genocide is that it is almost always caused by its victims' political or military leaders.24

Section IV examines the recent genocides in Bosnia and Rwanda. It reviews the underlying rationale for the genocides, describes the U.N.'s efforts to prevent and terminate the genocides, and explains how or why the genocides ended. Section V provides a list of distinctive characteristics or events that caused the genocides in Bosnia and Rwanda and explains why the Genocide Convention and the U.N. were ineffective in preventing them. Section VI uses the above information to advocate how and why a protocol to the Genocide Convention would help prevent or significantly reduce genocide.

II. The Genocide Convention

The Genocide Convention is a relatively short document that embodies four general principles.25 It strongly condemns genocide,26 defines genocide,27 encourages nations to enact legislation prohibiting and punishing genocide,28 and recognizes and encourages criminal jurisdiction either in local courts or in an international criminal tribunal.29

First, in its preamble, the Contracting Parties remind themselves and the world of the immense toll genocide has inflicted on mankind.30 They

also recognize and declare that genocide will be eliminated only with the combined efforts of the international community.31 In Article 1, the Contracting Parties reinforce the principles set forth in the preamble by stating their conviction that genocide is a crime under international law, whether in times of war or peace.32

Second, having declared genocide a crime, Article 2 defines genocide as "acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group."33 This definition excludes isolated murders or even mass murders if the killer has no intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a stated group, thus elevating genocide above random killings. Although the definition seems to cover all groups, it excludes political groups.34 This void is significant because its perpetrators often use genocide to eliminate a particular group who are also members of an opposing political party.35

The methods that constitute genocide are surprisingly broad. Most people consider genocide as only the act of killing members of a group. The Convention's definition of genocide, however, includes many levels of injustice committed against a group, in whole or in part: "killing members of the group," "causing serious bodily or mental harm," "deliberately inflicting . . . conditions . . . calculated to bring about [the group's] physical destruction," "imposing measures intended to prevent births," and even "forcibly transferring children of the group to another group."36 In Article 3, punishable "acts of genocide" include: "conspiracy," "direct and public incitement," "attempt," and "complicity" in genocide.37 The Convention's broad definitions could stop genocide before the killing begins, provided nations enact implementing legislation and actually enforce the law.

Third, the Contracting Parties agree to prevent and punish genocide.38

In Article 5, the Contracting Parties agree to "undertake to enact" legisl

tion to prevent and punish genocide or any of the acts of genocide.39 In

Article 4, the Contracting Parties agree to punish all perpetrators of genocide, whether they are political leaders, officials, or individuals.40

Fourth, the Contracting Parties agree to try individuals accused of committing genocide or one of the acts of genocide in the country where the act is committed.41 If no criminal legal action is taken there, the Parties also recognize that an international criminal tribunal could have jurisdiction, but only if the specific Contracting Party accepts the court's jurisdiction.42 In addition, the Parties agree that genocide is not a political crime and, therefore, will not prevent extradition of an accused.43

III. The United Nations and Its Ability to Control Actions of Sovereign Nations

During World War II, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and other Allies made agreements and combined as "United Nations" to defeat the Axis nations.44 Toward the end of the war, the overwhelming devastation and incalculable human suffering caused by the war weighed heavily on the Allied leaders. In an effort to prevent future wars, they formed an organization that would, with the exception of defense, claim a monopoly on the collective use of force.45

On 24 October 1945, with fifty-one original members, the U.N. was formally established.46 The U.N. may not have commenced with universal

authority or a worldwide mandate, but it has since become a universal organization.47 Currently, almost every nation has joined the U.N.48

The U.N.'s foundational document is its Charter.49 The Charter describes the U.N.'s underlying purpose, authority, and structure. The U.N.'s basic purpose or mission, as described in the preamble, is to achieve and maintain international peace and respect for the human rights of all people without distinction of race, religion, sex, or nationality.50

The U.N. Charter addresses both sovereign rights and international intervention.51 The Charter recognizes the inherent authority of nation-states to handle their domestic or internal affairs without interference from the U.N.52 This hesitation to enter internal conflicts is based on the belief that each country is responsible for its domestic concerns, and no country wants an outside organization interfering with its internal affairs.53 On the other hand, the Charter was written and is interpreted to allow the U.N. to intervene into the affairs of sovereign nations under certain circumstances.54 It allows the U.N. Security Council to breach a country's domestic shield under the enforcement measures of Chapter VII.55 For example, an internal conflict may threaten the peace and security of the region when it expands beyond the states' borders.56 Thus, the U.N.'s

foremost concern, as the Charter clearly expresses, is to prevent and remove threats of peace, suppress acts of aggression, and promote peace.57

The Charter created six separate suborganizations or "organs" to accomplish its mission: the Security Council, the General Assembly, the Secretariat, the International Court of Justice, the Trusteeship Council, and the Economic and Social Council. 58 Each has specific responsibilities and authority.59 For its specific purpose, this article details the Security Council, but only briefly mentions the other U.N. organs.

The Security Council consists of representatives from fifteen U.N. member states.60 Five nations are permanent members: the United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia, and China.61 The General Assembly...