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Ceu Ling

Nadine Gordon

UWRT-1103-023

18 April 2017

How Can We End Genocide?

The Genocide Convention defines genocide as intent to destroy, in whole or in

part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group. The genocide of the Armenians, the

Holocaust and the Rwanda are the three genocides of the twentieth century that fit that definition

(Destexhe 1994: 4-5). Genocides are happening in less developed countries with many different

ethnicities and religions. They are poor and powerless. There is nothing much they can do to

fight against it. The people need to be educated and fight back in a non-violent way. The world

needs to know more about genocide and needs to put more pressure on genocide countries. Since

genocide is caused by the government, it is hard to stop from inside affected countries so

outsiders need to step in to stop it.

We are in the 21st century and many thing have changed. Genocide is one thing that

hasnt change. It is still happening pretty much all over the world. It is a shame that genocide

keeps happening in this world. We have not learned from our history. We learned about the

horrible genocide during the Holocaust and thought it would be the last but many genocides

happened after that and many still happen today. Even the United Nations failed to stop genocide

as we can see in Rwanda and Bosnia (Rohde). The UN is made up of different countries. So, the

disagreement and division among the leaders make it hard for them to work together. Many

countries do not want to send their troops to fight with the UN forces. For example, in Rwanda
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only Belgium sent in troops and the force was not strong enough to stop the fighting between

Hutu and Titus. The mission failed horribly.

The security council is the UN's most powerful body, the only one with the authority to

issue legally binding resolutions that can be backed up by sanctions, blue-helmeted peacekeepers

or by force of arms (Borger et al.). One of the reasons very little action from the UN on this

conflict is the fundamental disagreement within the Security Council. The main countries that do

not get alone in the UN are America and Russia. Both US and Russia are in the United Nations

Security County who have the power of veto. They are probably two of the strongest and most

powerful nations. They have different political views on genocide. Genocide is one of the most

critical issues for US while Russia does not pay attention much into it. Russia Ambassador Vitaly

Churkin raised his hand to veto a resolution that uses the term genocide to describe the mass

killing of 8,000 Bosnian Muslims in the town of Srebrenica (Rohde). They even committed it

themselves by trying to take over Ukraine. Russia is doing things the way it wants and not really

working with the UN or with the US. The Cold War never really ended as it is still happening

today between United States and Russia. The UN and the world would not be wrong to blame

US and Russia for letting genocide happening because Russia and US have veto power and very

powerful with the United Nations. The two nations must work together to fight genocide.

Burma also known as Myanmar is less developed country and the poorest nation in

Southeast Asia. The country still faced genocide everyday but it is not widely known. It is an

unknown genocide since many do not know about it. The Karen people are one of the many

ethnic minorities in Burma. They live amidst ruby mines and valuable teak forests in Burma.

Karen National Liberation Army has fought a desperate war against the military junta. The army

consist of 7000 ill-equipped men resisting against over 100,000 Burmese soldiers, a one-sided
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fight (Films Media Group). It is a war forgotten by all. Civil war in Burma started after Burma

gained independence from Britain in 1948 and it is the worlds longest civil war. The Burmese

army mainly attacks civilians. Soldiers loot, rape, execute, torture and even burn the whole

village. There are more than 300,000 Karen refugees in the mountains on Thai border. No

humanitarian organization is allowed in the region. Thai border police tries their best to stop

them from crossing the border. The world turn a blind eye to their atrocities.

Another country still facing genocide is Sudan. In the year 2015 marks, Sudans President

Omar al-Bashir and his militia have caused more bloodshed in Darfur. The genocidal war that

has already claimed the lives of some 400,000 people, and displaced nearly three million, is

witnessing a new and devastating stage (Adams). On January 06, the United Nations Office for

the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that, 115 villages were either

evacuated or burned to the ground in the area (Adams). The United Nations and African Union

Mission in Darfur have failed miserably to protect them. With international bodies turning away,

and rebel groups elsewhere, the Janjaweed have moved in for the kill. But, there are also

economic factors at play. Sudan lost 75% of its oil revenue after the separation of South Sudan,

and is suffering enormous economic difficulties. Rich in oil, gold and minerals, Darfur presents

an opportunity to Bashirs government who are keen to empty these resources. The UN failed

again In Darfur just like it failed in Rwanda and Bosnia.

There is a forgotten Genocide in North Korea. In April 2012, the Tokyo Shimbun

newspaper reported that from December 2011 until April 2012, twenty thousand people have

starved to death in South Hwanghae Province (Park). The article also states that in some

regions, over one thousand people starved to death in one day. North Korea has become even

more dangerous over the past few years. Kim Jong-uns leadership declared it would carry out
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immediate executions when people are caught trying to cross the borders and pledged to hunt

down and imprison escapees, and even kill three generations of family members of North

Koreans who attempt to leave the country, whether they succeed or not(Park). Pyongyang has

dramatically increased spending on its nuclear and missile program. North Korea conducted

many nuclear test in the past years and continue doing it till today. North Korea have been able

to do all of those such as genocide and nuclear testing because outsiders do not do anything

about it. US, South Korea, Japan and China try to do something but could lead to nuclear war.

The essay covers country where genocide took place and most genocide are done by

government to its own people. But there is one terrorist group called ISIS who committed

genocide. ISIS have territory in Syria and Iraq and they have competed control over those

regions. ISIS is targeting Christians, Yazidis, and Shiite Muslims in Iraq and Syria (Kicker).

ISIS could have been stopped before it became as powerful as it is. The World just watched as

they murdered people and did nothing about it. The UN acts slow because of disagreement

within the Security Council. By the times the UN finally act, ISIS already killed thousands and

took many new territories. It was too late and ISIS already become powerful terrorist. United

Nations needs to respond faster to stop genocide.

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The world must unite to end genocide. Genocide is not something that happens

overnight or without warning. Genocide are organization and planed out as mostly carried out by

the governments. To prevent genocide, Understanding the way genocide occurs and learning to

recognize signs that could lead to genocide are important in making sure that such horrors do not

happen again (Rwanda, Genocide). As genocide mostly occur during war, one of the best ways

to reduce the chances of genocide is to address the root causes of violence and conflict. United

Nations need to follow their five steps to preventing genocide which are Prevent armed conflict,

protect civilians, including through UN peacekeepers, End impunity through judicial action, set

up early warning systems, and Take swift action, including use of military force. This can be

possible only if the United Nations security councils work together and act quickly instead of

delaying conflict. This will prevent genocide and eventually end it. UN Secretary-General Ban

Ki-moon stated "We have learned important lessons. We know more keenly than ever that

genocide is not a single event but a process that evolves over time, and requires planning and

resources to carry out. As chilling as that sounds, it also means that with adequate information,

mobilization, courage and political will, genocide can be prevented." (Rwanda, Genocide).
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Work Cited Page

Adam, Ahmed H. "Why Is the World Blind to the Fresh Threat of Genocide in Darfur?" The
Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 16 Jan. 2015. Web. 19 Mar. 2017.
Borger, Julian, Bastien Inzaurralde, Cath Levett, Chris Newell, Finbarr Sheehy, and Phil
Maynard. "Vetoed! What's Wrong with the UN Security Council and How It Could Do
Better." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2017.
Burma: A Secret Genocide. Films Media Group, 2008,Accessed 17 Mar. 2017.

Destexhe, Alain. 1994-1995. The Third Genocide. Foreign Policy (97): 3-17.
Kicker. "It's Official: ISIS Is Committing Genocide. Here's What That Means." The Huffington
Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 17 Mar. 2016. Web. 28 Apr. 2017.
Park, Robert. "The Forgotten Genocide: North Korea's Prison State." World Affairs Journal.
World Affairs, Aug. 2013. Web. 28 Apr. 2017.
Rwanda, Genocide, Hutu, Tutsi, Mass Execution, Ethnic Cleansing, Massacre, Human Rights,
Victim Remembrance, Education, Africa." United Nations. United Nations, n.d. Web. 28
Apr. 2017.
Rohde, David. "The UN Still Can't Stop Genocide." Defense One. N.p., 09 July 2015. Web. 27
Apr. 2017.