Genocide in Cambodia and Rwanda
The definition of Genocide can be found in Article II of the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention and in it acts of Genocide are categorised into five main areas. The reason for this was to make it easier to identify the victims and the perpetrators. The definition seems to hold all the essential elements but it is clear that this definition is sorely lacking in some part. It is reasonable on the part of the United Nations to narrow down the sphere of Genocide but their reluctance to broaden their definition over the years is unacceptable. An issue of great contention is the exclusion of the victims of political genocide. The two case studies that are to be discussed deal with issues of ethnic genocide as well as political mass killings. Rwanda in 1994, in the eyes of the international community, was clearly in the throes of mass genocide. The victims were clear and the perpetrators were clearly marked. In 1975 Cambodia however, a case of genocide could not be so easily proven. Although the perpetrators were acknowledged, the victims could not be plainly targeted. Why is this? Why are political massacres not covered under the law of Article II? The situation in Rwanda and Cambodia share many of the same characteristics of
A factor that also needs to be in place if Genocide is to occur is the "existence of an ideology that categorises members of identified groups as unworthy in comparison with the perpetrating group" . The victims must be seen as sub-human and unfit to live in the perpetrators ideology as was the case in Rwanda. There must also be a contrast of purity and corruption as was propagated in Cambodia whare the political body tried to eliminate the corrupting agent. There were many triggers that set off the mass killings in Rwanda and Cambodia, one of which was the manipulation of myth and the distortion of political ideology. According to Article II of the United Nations Genocide Convention there must be a capacity by the perpetrators to carry out their programs by force. This means perhaps that the perpetrators had the man power as well as the political power to carry out their plans. The modern state is well equipped to initiate and implement genocide. The perpetrator must prevent or overcome resistance by the victim, isolate the latter from potential allies. They must "ensure an appropriate combination of collaboration, acquiescence and ignorance among the rest of the population" . In Rwanda, the Tutsi population was massacred but the Hutu individuals were also persecuted. In Cambodia the urban middle class were terrorised in the social and political reconstruction of Democratic Kampuchea therefore not covered under the United Nations Convention. But what of the other minority groups that were killed or displaced. Where there was clear Genocide, why wasn't there any intervention?
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Approximate Word count = 2107
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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