Genocide

- 1944: Polish-Jewish jurist, Raphael Lemkin (1900-1959), coined the word 'Genocide', which is a combination of the Greek word genos (race) with the Latin word cide (killing)USHMM.org: Committee on Conscience
- Ethnic cleansing is a form of genocideMUNFW.org: Ethnic Cleansing and Genocide
- The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an independent, permanent court that may try cases of genocide if a case is not investigated or prosecuted by a national judicial system ICC: About
- As of 2008, the ICC consists of 106 countries ICC: Establishment of the Court

Genocide is defined by The United Nations as acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.OHCHR: Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights Genocide is considered to be an international crime whether the acts were committed during a peaceful time or in a war.
Genocide Legal Highlights
1. 1945-1946: The International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg tried 22 major Nazi German leaders and the word “genocide” was included as a descriptive term in the indictmentUSHMM.org: Genocide Timeline
2. 1946: On December 11, the General Assembly of the United Nations declared that genocide is a crime under international lawOHCHR: Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights
3. 1948: On December 9, the United Nations declared genocide, the conspiracy to commit genocide, direct and public incitement to commit genocide, an attempt to commit genocide and any complicity in genocide to be punishable crimesOHCHR: Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights
4. 1993: The International Criminal Tribunal of the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was formed by the United Nations Security CouncilUSHMM.org: Genocide Timeline
5. 1998: On September 2, Jean-Paul Akayesu was judged guilty of genocide and crimes against humanity for acts he engaged in and oversaw as mayor of the Rwandan town of Taba in the world's first conviction of genocide issued by the ICTR in an international tribunalUSHMM.org: Genocide Timeline
6. 2002: The International Criminal Court went into force ICC: Establishment of the Court
7. 2008: On July 14, the United Nations announced that they are pulling all non-essential staff out of Darfur due to an arrest warrant issued for Sudanese President Bashir by the International Criminal CourtUSA Today: Genocide charges prompt U.N. to Pull Staff Out of Darfur (July 14, 2008)
Examples of Genocide Timeline
1. 1975-1979: 21% (approximately 1.7 million people) of the Cambodian population were killedYale University: Cambodian Genocide Program
2. 1992-1995: 7,800 Bosnian men and boys were murdered by Serbian forces in Srebrenica
3. 1994: Estimates ranging up to 800,000 people, mostly from the Tutsi minority group, were killed in Rwanda from April until July
4. 2004: On September 9, then-Secretary of State Colin Powell testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that "We concluded — I concluded — that genocide has been committed in Darfur and that the Government of Sudan and the Janjaweed bear responsibility — and that genocide may still be occurring"BBC: Powell declares genocide in Sudan (September 9, 2004)