Cultural genocide : the erosion of a minorities’ identity

Abstract

The term genocide when being coined by Raphael Lemkin was given eight subcategories. However, only the biological and physical genocide were mentioned in the Convention of the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, leaving the remaining six categories unprotected by international law and providing leeway to the perpetrators to commit these acts without being punished as a result. In this dissertation, the author begins by defining what genocide is, along with the listing of five acts that result in being genocide by the Convention if committed against a group. Reference is made to the Convention as well as the main elements that make up genocide – the author makes a distinction between those acts that require not only the evidence of an act being committed, but also evidence of a result being procured, and those acts that just require evidence of the act being committed. Both such types of acts require the specific intent. Cultural genocide, being one of those sub-categories that was not mentioned in the Convention, left a lacuna within the Convention. A detailed explanation of the various processes of the drafting of the Convention and reasons behind such rejection is provided for. The focus of the dissertation then shifts onto the ongoing persecution of the Uyghur Muslims by the Chinese State itself. The author analyses the specific inhumane acts carried out, during these re-education camps, against the Uyghurs. Upon the last section, there is a distinction of how the acts committed in the camps can be considered as cultural genocide. The author concludes by providing various recommendations to solve the issue of the lacuna and lack of efficiency the Convention has towards cultural genocide.