Genocide

Genocide is characterized by a specific intent (dolus specialis), which distinguishes it from other mass crimes. It is not sufficient to show large-scale killing; it must be proven that there was a deliberate intent to destroy a group “as such.” This intent is often difficult to establish and represents one of the main challenges in legally qualifying acts as genocide.

The Convention prohibits genocide and specifies that it may be committed in times of peace as well as in times of war. It obliges states to prevent and punish genocide—failure to do so may engage their international responsibility—and establishes individual criminal responsibility for genocide and related acts, including conspiracy, incitement, attempt, and complicity.

The prosecution of genocide

In addition to national mechanisms, genocide may be prosecuted before international courts. The first convictions were handed down by the ad hoc international criminal tribunals established in 1993 and 1994 by the United Nations Security Council.

• The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) was the first court to convict an individual for genocide in the Akayesu case (1998), notably recognizing that rape and sexual violence may constitute acts of genocide.
• The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) qualified the Srebrenica massacre (1995) as genocide, in particular in the Krstić case (2001), a characterization later confirmed by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2007.

Established by the Rome Statute (1998), the International Criminal Court has jurisdiction to prosecute genocide committed after 2002, provided that the crime was committed on the territory of a State Party, by a national of a State Party, or pursuant to a referral by the United Nations Security Council.

At the national level, several states—including Germany, Argentina, Belgium, France, and Switzerland—have incorporated the crime of genocide into their domestic legislation, either by strictly adopting the Convention’s definition or by expanding it, as is the case in Switzerland. This criminalization enables their courts to prosecute those responsible, including for acts committed abroad, within the limits set by their national law.