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Created page with "'''Genocide''' is a term that refers to the killing of a group. The term was coined by Raphäel Lemkin in their book ''Axis Rule in Occupied Europe'' (1944).<ref name=":1">{{Citation|title=Axis Rule in Occupied Europe|author=Raphäel Lemkin|year=1944|publisher=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace|city=Washington|pdf=https://www.lawandisrael.org/wp-content/uploads/Topics/Holocaust/Genocide/Lemkin-Axis-Rule-Genocide.pdf}}</ref> ==Etymology== It consists of..." |
added the macedonian cultural genocide enacted by Greek royal government backed by the US and UK. Its important to note that forced assimilation of the Slavic Macedonian minority also took place under the metaxas regime and some elements of cultural |
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'''Genocide''' is a term | '''Genocide''' is a term which, broadly, refers to actions committed with the intent to destroy a group of people, in whole or in part. [[Republic of Poland (1918–1939)|Polish]] lawyer [[Raphael Lemkin]] coined the term in his book ''Axis Rule in Occupied Europe'' (1944).<ref name=":1">{{Citation|title=Axis Rule in Occupied Europe|author=[[Raphäel Lemkin]]|year=1944|publisher=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace|city=Washington|pdf=https://www.lawandisrael.org/wp-content/uploads/Topics/Holocaust/Genocide/Lemkin-Axis-Rule-Genocide.pdf}}</ref> The [[United Nations]] defines genocide as:<blockquote>... any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: | ||
* 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<ref>{{Web citation|newspaper=Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights|title=Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide|date=9 December 1948|url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-prevention-and-punishment-crime-genocide|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220413091325/https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-prevention-and-punishment-crime-genocide|archive-date=2022-04-13|retrieved=2022-10-28}}</ref> | |||
</blockquote> | |||
==Etymology== | ==Etymology== | ||
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It consists of the Greek prefix ''genos'', meaning race or tribe, and the Latin suffix ''cide'', meaning to kill. | It consists of the Greek prefix ''genos'', meaning race or tribe, and the Latin suffix ''cide'', meaning to kill. | ||
== | Raphael Lemkin first coined the term in ''Axis Rule in Occupied Europe''.<ref name=:1 /> | ||
Genocide was | |||
== Controversies == | |||
Despite its purported support for international law, the [[United States]] was the only member-state of the United Nations that refused to ratify the Genocide Convention, claiming that the convention was an "abridgment" of its sovereignty. When it finally did so in 1988, the US Government included "reservations" that made it exempt from actual compliance, thereby undermining the original intent of the convention.<ref>{{Citation|author=Ward Churchill|year=1997|title=A Little Matter of Genocide: Holocaust and Denial in the Americas 1492 to the Present|page=10|quote=In effect, the United States—in perfectly Hitlerian fashion—remains to this day outside the law... still refusing to accept the idea that refraining from genocidal activity is not an "abridgment of [its] sovereignty".|publisher=City Lights Books}}</ref> | |||
In 2023, the ''[[Wall Street Journal]]'' released an opinion article called "Is It Time to Retire the Term 'Genocide'? The Meaning of Genocide," which does not mention the UN definition. The article seeks to question the meaning of genocide to prevent it from being used against the USA and other [[Imperial core|Western countries]].<ref>{{Web citation|author=Margaret Kimberley|newspaper=[[Black Agenda Report]]|title=When Genocide Is No Longer Genocide|date=2023-12-13|url=https://www.blackagendareport.com/when-genocide-no-longer-genocide|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231222031036/https://www.blackagendareport.com/when-genocide-no-longer-genocide|archive-date=2023-12-22}}</ref> | |||
== Examples == | |||
Below is an incomplete list of genocides. Ongoing events are '''emboldened'''. | |||
* [[Siege of Carthage (Third Punic War)|Siege of Carthage]] (c. 149–146 BC) | |||
* [[Gallic Wars]] (58–50 BC) | |||
* [[Muslim conquest of Persia]] (633–651) | |||
* [[Harrying of the North]] (1069–1070) | |||
* [[Mongol conquests]] (1206–1368) | |||
* [[Albigensian Crusade]] (1209–1229) | |||
* '''[[Genocide of the indigenous peoples of the Americas]] (1492–present)''' | |||
** [[Taíno genocide]] (1493–1550) | |||
** [[Native American genocide|'''Native American genocide''']] '''(1609–present)''' | |||
** [[Guatemalan genocide]] (1960–1996) | |||
* [[Dzungar genocide]] (1755–1758) | |||
* '''[[Australia#Aboriginal genocide|Genocide of Indigenous Australians]] (1788–present)''' | |||
* [[Moriori genocide]] (1835–1863) | |||
* [[Great Famine (Ireland)|Irish Potato Famine]] (1845–1852) | |||
* [[Circassian genocide]] (1864–1867) | |||
* [[Congolese genocide]] (1885–1908) | |||
* [[Herero and Namaqua genocide]] (1904–1908) | |||
* [[Late Ottoman genocides]] (1909–1923) | |||
** [[Armenian genocide]] (1914–1923) | |||
** [[Greek genocide]] (1914–1923) | |||
** ''[[Sayfo]]'' (1915–1917) | |||
* '''[[Palestinian genocide]] (1917–present)''' | |||
** [[1948 Palestinian flight and expulsion]] (1947–1949) | |||
** '''[[Gaza genocide]] (2023–present)''' | |||
* [[Libyan genocide]] (1929–1934) | |||
* [[Second Italo-Ethiopian War]] (1935–1937) | |||
* [[Second Sino-Japanese War]] (1937–1945) | |||
** [[Nanjing Massacre|Nanjing massacre]] (1937) | |||
* [[Nazi war crimes]] (1939–1945) | |||
** [[Polish Holocaust]] (1939–1945) | |||
** [[Holocaust|Jewish Holocaust]] (1941–1945) | |||
** [[Romani Holocaust]] (1941–1945) | |||
** [[Serbian genocide]] (1941–1945) | |||
* [[Bengal famine of 1943]] (1943–1944) | |||
* [[Macedonian genocide]] (1946-1949) | |||
*[[Indonesian mass killings of 1965–66|Indonesian genocide]] (1965–1966) | |||
*[[Bangladesh genocide]] (1971) | |||
*''[[Ikiza]]'' (1972) | |||
*[[Cambodian genocide]] (1975–1979) | |||
*[[East Timor genocide]] (1975–1999) | |||
*[[Bosnian genocide]] (1992–1995) | |||
*[[Rwandan genocide]] (1994) | |||
*[[Darfur genocide]] (2003–2005) | |||
*[[Yazidi genocide]] (2014–2017) | |||
*'''[[Republic of the Union of Myanmar#Rohingya genocide|Rohingya genocide]] (2016–2017, 2017–present)''' | |||
*'''[[Masalit genocide]] (2023–present)''' | |||
*'''[[Alawite genocide]] (2025–present)''' | |||
== See also == | |||
*[[We Charge Genocide]] | |||
== References == | |||
<references /> | |||
[[Category:Genocide]] | |||
Latest revision as of 06:49, 3 December 2025
Genocide is a term which, broadly, refers to actions committed with the intent to destroy a group of people, in whole or in part. Polish lawyer Raphael Lemkin coined the term in his book Axis Rule in Occupied Europe (1944).[1] The United Nations 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:
- 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[2]
Etymology[edit | edit source]
It consists of the Greek prefix genos, meaning race or tribe, and the Latin suffix cide, meaning to kill.
Raphael Lemkin first coined the term in Axis Rule in Occupied Europe.[1]
Controversies[edit | edit source]
Despite its purported support for international law, the United States was the only member-state of the United Nations that refused to ratify the Genocide Convention, claiming that the convention was an "abridgment" of its sovereignty. When it finally did so in 1988, the US Government included "reservations" that made it exempt from actual compliance, thereby undermining the original intent of the convention.[3]
In 2023, the Wall Street Journal released an opinion article called "Is It Time to Retire the Term 'Genocide'? The Meaning of Genocide," which does not mention the UN definition. The article seeks to question the meaning of genocide to prevent it from being used against the USA and other Western countries.[4]
Examples[edit | edit source]
Below is an incomplete list of genocides. Ongoing events are emboldened.
- Siege of Carthage (c. 149–146 BC)
- Gallic Wars (58–50 BC)
- Muslim conquest of Persia (633–651)
- Harrying of the North (1069–1070)
- Mongol conquests (1206–1368)
- Albigensian Crusade (1209–1229)
- Genocide of the indigenous peoples of the Americas (1492–present)
- Taíno genocide (1493–1550)
- Native American genocide (1609–present)
- Guatemalan genocide (1960–1996)
- Dzungar genocide (1755–1758)
- Genocide of Indigenous Australians (1788–present)
- Moriori genocide (1835–1863)
- Irish Potato Famine (1845–1852)
- Circassian genocide (1864–1867)
- Congolese genocide (1885–1908)
- Herero and Namaqua genocide (1904–1908)
- Late Ottoman genocides (1909–1923)
- Armenian genocide (1914–1923)
- Greek genocide (1914–1923)
- Sayfo (1915–1917)
- Palestinian genocide (1917–present)
- 1948 Palestinian flight and expulsion (1947–1949)
- Gaza genocide (2023–present)
- Libyan genocide (1929–1934)
- Second Italo-Ethiopian War (1935–1937)
- Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945)
- Nanjing massacre (1937)
- Nazi war crimes (1939–1945)
- Polish Holocaust (1939–1945)
- Jewish Holocaust (1941–1945)
- Romani Holocaust (1941–1945)
- Serbian genocide (1941–1945)
- Bengal famine of 1943 (1943–1944)
- Macedonian genocide (1946-1949)
- Indonesian genocide (1965–1966)
- Bangladesh genocide (1971)
- Ikiza (1972)
- Cambodian genocide (1975–1979)
- East Timor genocide (1975–1999)
- Bosnian genocide (1992–1995)
- Rwandan genocide (1994)
- Darfur genocide (2003–2005)
- Yazidi genocide (2014–2017)
- Rohingya genocide (2016–2017, 2017–present)
- Masalit genocide (2023–present)
- Alawite genocide (2025–present)
See also[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Raphäel Lemkin (1944). Axis Rule in Occupied Europe. [PDF] Washington: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
- ↑ "Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide" (9 December 1948). Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Archived from the original on 2022-04-13. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
- ↑ “In effect, the United States—in perfectly Hitlerian fashion—remains to this day outside the law... still refusing to accept the idea that refraining from genocidal activity is not an "abridgment of [its] sovereignty".”
Ward Churchill (1997). A Little Matter of Genocide: Holocaust and Denial in the Americas 1492 to the Present (p. 10). City Lights Books. - ↑ Margaret Kimberley (2023-12-13). "When Genocide Is No Longer Genocide" Black Agenda Report. Archived from the original on 2023-12-22.