Preventing Genocide

Genocide has been called 'a problem from hell' and despite vehement declarations of 'never again' it's a problem that continues to plague the world. From the beginning of history to the most recent massacres in Bosnia, Rwanda, and Darfur, genocide defies resolution. And given today's worldwide access to highly lethal weapons and advanced communications technology facilitating incitement to hate, we can expect to see this problem grow. It is often claimed that genocide occurs without warning, taking both local and global communities by surprise. Yet, as David Hamburg convincingly shows, we have had long-term advance knowledge of most modern genocides dating back to the early 20th century Armenian tragedy in Turkey and before. In this book, Dr. Hamburg applies a groundbreaking new perspective-the medical model of prevention-to the scourge of genocide in the world. Preventing genocide is not only possible, Dr Hamburg contends, but essential given its high cost in lives, human rights, and international security. Here he maps out numerous practical steps to recognise genocidal conflicts early and stem their tides of violence before they become acute. He also outlines several institutions in place and programs underway at the UN, EU, and NATO devoted to preventing future genocides before they erupt. He draws lessons both from missed opportunities and successful experiences and makes many constructive suggestions about strengthening international institutions, governments, and NGOs for this purpose.

Genocide--the deliberate destruction, usually through mass murder, of an ethnic, racial or religious group--is the ultimate crime against humanity. Drawing upon a wide variety of disciplines, this study assesses ways to prevent this crime. While most books about genocide focus on the history of a particular event, such as the Holocaust, or compare case studies to derive empirical theories, this book outlines many practical aspects of genocide prevention. Heidenrich covers a broad spectrum of expert opinions, from Stanley Hoffmann to Henry Kissinger, as well as political opinions regarding genocide that range from Ronald Reagan to Bill Clinton. Topics include international law, humanitarian intervention, early warning measures, and the effectiveness of such methods as diplomacy, economic pressure, and nonviolent resistance. Preventing genocide in a tense socio-political environment is no easy task, but such prevention is easier and more cost-effective than trying to put an end to genocide once it is already occurring.

This volume is comprised of over 2,300 annotations on a wide array of issues and topics germane to the subject of preventing the atrocities of genocide and managing these conflicts when they do arise. Samuel Totten brings together in one comprehensive collection the research and findings in various fields, such as political science, sociology, history, and psychology, to enable specialists in genocide studies, peace studies, and conflict resolution to benefit from the insights of a diverse range of scholars and foster an understanding of how the various components of genocide studies connect. Among the topics included are: key conventions, international treaties, and covenants genocide early warning signals and forecasting risk data bases sanctions peacekeeping missions conflict resolution the International Criminal Court realpolitik vis-à-vis the issue of genocide prevention and intervention key non-governmental agencies key governmental and UN bodies working on these important issues. In addition to the annotations, Totten frames the bibliography with a major essay that introduces the reader to the subject of prevention and intervention of genocide, raising a host of critical issues regarding the strengths, weaknesses, and limitations of various approaches germane to issues of managing these conflicts.

This perceptive book analyzes the scope of the duty to prevent genocide of China, France, Russia, the UK, and the US in light of the due diligence standard under conventional, customary, and peremptory international law. It expounds the positive obligations of these five states to act both within and without the Security Council context to prevent or suppress an imminent or ongoing genocide.

While it is true that genocide prevention is not what tends to land on the front pages of national newspapers today, it is what prevents the worst headlines from ever being made. Despite the post-Holocaust consensus that "Never Again" would the world allow civilians to be victims of genocide, the reality is closer to "Again and Again." As many as 170 million civilians across the world were victims of genocide and mass atrocity in the 20th century. Now that we have entered the 21st century, little light has been brought to that darkness as civilians still find themselves under brutal attack in South Sudan, Burma, Syria, the Central African Republic, Burundi, Iraq, and a score of other countries in the world beset by state fragility and extremist identity politics. Drawing on over two decades of primary research and scholarship from a wide range of disciplinary perspectives, Confronting Evil: Engaging Our Responsibility to Prevent Genocide is grounded in the belief that preventing mass atrocity is an achievable goal, but only if we have the collective will to do so. This groundbreaking book from one of the foremost leaders in the field presents a fascinating continuum of research-informed strategies to prevent genocide from ever taking place; to prevent further atrocities once genocide is occurring; and to prevent future atrocities once a society has begun to rebuild after genocide. With remarkable insight, Dr. James Waller challenges each of us to accept our responsibilities as global citizens-in whichever role and place we find ourselves-and to think critically about one of the world's most pressing human rights issues in which there are no sidelines, only sides.

Responsibility to Protect: Research, bibliography, background. Supplementary volume to the Report of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty

While it is true that genocide prevention is not what tends to land on the front pages of national newspapers today, it is what prevents the worst headlines from ever being made. Despite the post-Holocaust consensus that "Never Again" would the world allow civilians to be victims of genocide, the reality is closer to "Again and Again." As many as 170 million civilians across the world were victims of genocide and mass atrocity in the 20th century. Now that we have entered the 21st century, little light has been brought to that darkness as civilians still find themselves under brutal attack in South Sudan, Burma, Syria, the Central African Republic, Burundi, Iraq, and a score of other countries in the world beset by state fragility and extremist identity politics. Drawing on over two decades of primary research and scholarship from a wide range of disciplinary perspectives, Confronting Evil: Engaging Our Responsibility to Prevent Genocide is grounded in the belief that preventing mass atrocity is an achievable goal, but only if we have the collective will to do so. This groundbreaking book from one of the foremost leaders in the field presents a fascinating continuum of research-informed strategies to prevent genocide from ever taking place; to prevent further atrocities once genocide is occurring; and to prevent future atrocities once a society has begun to rebuild after genocide. With remarkable insight, Dr. James Waller challenges each of us to accept our responsibilities as global citizens-in whichever role and place we find ourselves-and to think critically about one of the world's most pressing human rights issues in which there are no sidelines, only sides.