Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide

Title: 
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
Document Type: 
International Conventions and Declarations
Reference: 
78 U.N.T.S. 277
Annotation: 
The "Genocide Convention" was adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1948 and entered into force January 12, 1951. The Convention establishes a definition for the crime of genocide and attributes direct and individual criminal responsibility to those who participate in its commission. Latterly, acts that directly target women (such as mass rape in Rwanda and Bosnia) have been considered by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) to consitute part of a genocidal policy. This requires the requisite intent (mens rea) and an attempt to destroy in whole or in part a national, ethnic racial or religious group.