Genocide Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Genocide - Essay Example This document distinguishes several types of perpetrators and their involvement in genocide through examples. It also defines the content of the crime according to the international law and the convention towards the prevention and punishment of genocide. Finally, the different kinds of genocide based on their intent as retributive, cultural, latent, optimal, and utilitarian are discussed. Most people in the society tend to use the general concepts such as mass murder and massacre, while referring to genocide. They may also associate the delivery of justice with the local governments after the crime, since they have no idea of the international protection by the law. Genocide is a crime defined in the international criminal law, and is currently handled by the International Criminal Court (ICC), based in the Netherlands at Hague. The ICC aims to protect the potential victims, bring to trial or apprehend suspected perpetrators, while giving justice to the affected in the society. Several international organizations define the crime based on destruction targeting a particular group of people within a domain; however, what distinguishes the crime from others is the motivation behind it. According to Rummel (2002), history shows different situations where people had been murdered under the authority of their rulers and governments, either in war or by strict instructions given to exterminate rebellious groups; even though, legal application of the term ‘Genocide’ came into use first in the indictment of the Nazi war criminals, at Nuremburg tribunal between 1945 and 1946, in association with Raphael Lemkin. Although the ICC is an independent judicial system, it works closely with the United Nations to uphold human rights and campaign against genocide. The crime of genocide is not limited to mass killings but it covers a wide scope. It is defined in the international law in the convention on the prevention and punishment