Source: www.iranhr.net
Translation by Iran Press Watch
Mohammad Moghimi; “Our Rights” Magazine: Genocide is one of the international crimes. According to international laws, four international crimes have been criminalized so far. In addition to genocide, other international crimes include war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes against peace. International crimes are the subject of international criminal law and human rights.
The main goal of international criminal law is to take measures to prevent disruption of international public order, especially international peace and security. In this regard, preventing the occurrence of crimes and punishing those who commit international crimes, including genocide, are major focuses of this field of law.
Despite these efforts in international law, today multiple wars are occurring around the world. In many of these wars, whether civil war or international war, international humanitarian laws (Laws of War) are not being observed. There are instances where combatants are committing international crimes, including genocide. The international community has also failed to prevent or prosecute many of these crimes. To understand the definition and some examples of the crime of genocide, and the possibility of prosecuting the perpetrators of this crime, the genocide of the Baha’is in Iran and cultural genocide have been examined.
Genocide refers to any act of destruction and physical removal of a part or the whole of a racial, ethnic, national, religious or ideological group by another group. The Genocide Convention is an international treaty that criminalizes genocide and prohibits governments from committing genocide. The aforementioned convention was the first legal document to criminalize genocide as an international crime and the first human rights treaty that was unanimously approved by the United Nations General Assembly on December 9, 1948, and was enforced on January 12, 1951.
Article 2 of the Convention defines genocide as any of the following acts committed with the intention of total or partial destruction of a national, ethnic, racial or religious group:
a) Killing group members
b) Causing serious physical or mental harm to group members
c) Deliberately imposing living conditions on a group that is calculated for its complete or partial physical destruction
d) Applying measures to prevent births within the group
e) Forced transfer of children from one group to another
Examples of Contemporary Genocide
Groups that are or have experienced genocide include Uyghurs (by Chinese Government), Greeks, Assyrians and Armenians (by the Ottoman Empire), Rwanda tribal genocides, Jews (Nazi Germany), Bosnian Muslims, Circassians (by Russia), Yazidis (by ISIS), Rohingya (Myanmar), Cambodia, Hazaras in Afghanistan and Ukrainians.
This author believes that what is happening in Gaza these days is also an example of genocide.
Judicial Prosecution of Genocide Crimes
All signatories to the Genocide Convention are committed to preventing and punishing the crimes of genocide, whether in peacetime or wartime. However, there are many obstacles that make it difficult to implement this task. For example, some of the signatories only agreed to sign the treaty provided that no claim of genocide could be made against them without the consent of these countries presented to the International Criminal Court, including the United States of America, India, Malaysia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, Yemen, and the former Yugoslavia.
In general, international criminal law has faced the challenge of insufficient guarantees. The international community has been unable to create a comprehensive judicial system due to the conflicting interests between the multiple governments involved. Jurisdiction in the International Criminal Court is conditional on the fact that a country or the opposite party involved in a conflict with that country has signed the statute of this court and accepted its jurisdiction.
Another way to exercise the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court is for an issue to be referred by the United Nations Security Council. However, this affects the permanent members of this council who have the right to veto, and the impact of political considerations is evident.
In the case of international crimes, including the crime of genocide, it is theoretically possible for all countries in the world to exercise universal jurisdiction, but in practice, political interests and conflicting interests make it difficult, and countries refuse to exercise universal jurisdiction due to its political consequences.
Genocide of Bahais in Iran
According to paragraph “A”, “B” and “C” of the Genocide Convention, considering the killing of many Baha’is by the Islamic Republic following the Islamic Revolution. The Regime has also caused many Bahai’ properties to be confiscated, prevented Baha’is from pursing education and deprived of employment. According to various sources, there are instances of torture and harassment. Even the graves of deceased Baha’is are destroyed. From these examples it can be said that the Islamic Republic has committed genocide against the Baha’is. However, due to the obstacles described in previous paragraphs, it is currently not possible to prosecute the Islamic Regime for these crimes in an international court. This author believes that the genocide of Baha’i compatriots in Iran has been neglected by human rights institutions, and the United Nations at the head of them. In fact, this genocide has been reduced to issuing a statement condemning the Islamic Republic for violating the Baha’is’ citizenship rights.
Cultural Genocide
Cultural genocide is a concept that was first proposed by lawyer Raphael Lemkin in 1944 as a part of genocide. Along with ethnocide, cultural genocide was addressed in the 2007 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; However, cultural genocide was removed from the final document. Despite this, the Armenian Genocide Memorial Museum has continued to include in its definition of genocide “acts and actions to destroy the culture of nations or ethnic groups through spiritual, national and cultural destruction.”
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