The convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide : is there a responsibility to protect?

Abstract

The United Nations 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide has become a major pillar in international humanitarian rules and a crime under international law. According to Article 1 of the convention, "The Contracting Parties confirm that genocide, whether committed in time of peace or in time of war, is a crime under international law which they undertake to prevent and to punish". The steps taken to determine whether genocide is occurring within a state and moreover the responsibility and duties of the 'contracting parties' as defined under Article 1 of the convention, is a complex issue which requires further understanding. Since the end of the Cold War the United Nations Security Council have undergone numerous peacekeeping missions to ensure that conflict is taken care of. The Security Council has done reasonably well intervening in most cases; however when it came to humanitarian intervention in cases of genocide, the world has witnessed a prolongation of suffering when the UN was supposed to mitigate it. The debate about humanitarian intervention lays alongside the existence of the principles of sovereignty authorised and unauthorised intervention, the legal and moral duty to protect, and the use of force. There is a growing need to establish prevention methods so that use of force is used as a last resort. This dissertation looks at events that occurred in contemporary society highlighting the international community's responsibility to protect against the crime of genocide in accordance with the Genocide Convention.