Editing Genocide (section)

=== Genocide Convention ===
{{main|Genocide Convention}}
[[File:Genocide Convention Participation.svg|right|upright=1.2|thumb|Participation in the Genocide Convention
{{legend|#00aa00|Signed and ratified}}
{{legend|#008000|Acceded or succeeded}}
{{legend|#eeee00|Only signed}}
]]
Two years after passing [[United Nations General Assembly Resolution 96 (I)|a resolution affirming the criminalization of genocide]], the [[United Nations General Assembly]] adopted the [[Genocide Convention]] on 9 December 1948.{{sfn|Weiss-Wendt|2017|p=3}} It came into effect on 12 January 1951 after 20 countries ratified it without [[Reservation (law)|reservations]].{{sfn|Weiss-Wendt|2017|p=158}} The convention defines genocide as:

{{blockquote|...&nbsp;any of the following acts committed with [[intent to destroy]], in whole or in part, a [[nation]]al, [[ethnic]]al, [[racial]] or [[religious]] group, as such:{{plainlist|
* (a) Killing members of the group;
* (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
* (c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
* (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
* (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.{{sfn|Kiernan|2023|p=6}}}}|sign=|source=}}

A [[dolus specialis|specific]] "[[intent to destroy]]" is the ''[[mens rea]]'' requirement of genocide.{{sfn|Schabas|2010|pp=136, 138}} The issue of what it means to destroy a group "as such" and how to prove the required intent has been difficult for courts to resolve. The legal system has also struggled with how much of a group can be targeted before triggering the Genocide Convention.{{sfn|Ozoráková|2022|pp=292–295}}{{sfn|Irvin-Erickson|2023|p=13}}{{sfn|Schabas|2010|p=136}} The two main approaches to intent are the purposive approach, where the perpetrator expressly wants to destroy the group, and the knowledge-based approach, where the perpetrator understands that destruction of the protected group will result from his actions.{{sfn|Lemos|Taylor|Kiernan|2023|p=35}}{{sfn|Jones|2023|pp=49–50}} Intent is the most difficult aspect for prosecutors to prove;{{sfn|Kiernan|Madley|Taylor|2023|pp=4, 9}}{{sfn|Ochab|Alton|2022|pp=28, 30}} the perpetrators often claim that they merely sought the removal of the group from a given territory, instead of destruction as such,{{sfn|Bachman|2022|p=57}} or that the genocidal actions were [[collateral damage]] of military activity.{{sfn|Bachman|2022|p=47}}

Attempted genocide, [[conspiracy (law)|conspiracy]] to commit genocide, [[incitement to genocide]], and [[complicity in genocide]] are criminalized.{{sfn|Kiernan|Madley|Taylor|2023|p=2}} The convention does not allow the retroactive prosecution of events that took place prior to 1951.{{sfn|Kiernan|Madley|Taylor|2023|p=2}} Signatories are also required to [[genocide prevention|prevent genocide]] and prosecute its perpetrators.{{sfn|Ochab|Alton|2022|p=32}} Many countries have incorporated genocide into their [[municipal law]], varying to a lesser or greater extent from the convention.{{sfn|Schabas|2010|p=123}} The convention's definition of genocide was adopted verbatim by the [[ad hoc international criminal tribunals|''ad hoc'' international criminal tribunals]] and by the [[Rome Statute]] that established the [[International Criminal Court]] (ICC).{{sfn|Ozoráková|2022|p=281}} The crime of genocide also exists in [[customary international law]] and is therefore prohibited for non-signatories.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 2021 |title=Genocide: The legal basis for universal jurisdiction |url=https://www.amnesty.org/es/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/ior530102001en.pdf |website=[[Amnesty International]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241231035342/https://www.amnesty.org/es/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/ior530102001en.pdf |archive-date=31 December 2024}}</ref>