Time to re-think genocide when the “crime of crimes” depends on the color of a star
The indictment of the Pol Pot regime leaders Khieu Samphan, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith by the Co-Investigating Judges of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia exemplifies to the extreme the main issue of the legal concept of “genocide” as it stands today. According to the closing decision of 15 September 2010, only Cham and Vietnamese shall be considered as victims of genocide. For all other victims – presumably more than one and half million of Cambodians – the legal qualifications of the evil that they suffered are crimes against humanity and, in some case, war crimes. From the perspective of international criminal law, notably concerning sanctions, this distinction will not be meaningful. However, the symbolic significance of the concept of “genocide” as “crime of crimes” is likely to cause injustice among victims as well as a dilution of crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Christophe Germann therefore submits to suspend the application of the 1948 Genocide Convention while acknowledging that it has fully accomplished its historic mission. This Convention arguably cannot be amended in a way that avoids incoherence and redundancy with newer law. As a solution, the author proposes to introduce a novel international crime, the crime against human diversity, as an aggravated form of crimes against humanity in the Rome statute and like instruments.
Deterrence of crimes against human diversity by way of international criminal law can contribute to reinforce the diversity of human expressions, including cultural, social, political and ideological expressions. It can work as a novel safeguard against the mobilization of civil society by the most radical conflict entrepreneurs. As such, it may become a most effective means of early prevention of mass atrocities.
Christophe Germann presents this contribution at the 2nd Biennial War Crimes Conference: Justice? Whose Justice? Punishment, Mediation or Reconciliation.
Dr Germann,
ReplyDeleteIt is with great interest I read your blog. The issue of cultural genocide is of high interest and I think it does not get enough attention from the general public.
I am myself interested in the topic because of my appartenance to a culturally genocided population: the Berbers of Tunisia.
I would really like to exchange on the topic, if you have time to answer one or two of my questions?
Best Regards.