AN EXAMINATION OF THE CRIME OF GENOCIDE IN INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW

Abstract:

This thesis entitled “An Examination of the Crime of Genocide under International Humanitarian Law” dealt with crime of genocide as an act of aggression which of recent presented serious threats to international peace and security. This is because this crime when committed within a particular state lead to murder of innocent people to such alarming propositions that the international community could not ignore. Global incidences of the commission of the crime of genocide led to concerted efforts of the United Nations to make genocide an international crime so that its perpetrators could be brought to justice through punishment. On this note, this thesis aimed at examining the legal framework of the crime of genocide through the study of the various constitutive international instruments on the crime of genocide and also that of the International Criminal Court (ICC) as the judicial institution responsible for fight against genocide in International Law. However, the statement of problem of this research is that following the recent experiences in the commission of the crime of genocide the international community has found it difficult to bring perpetrators for punishment before the international criminal court due to one reason or the other. For example, the consideration of the circumstances to be designated as genocide by the Rome Statute is not clear. In addition, it is noteworthy to state here that, a fundamental issue which generated the interest of the writer in this area of research is that there is no corresponding will by states to prevent the commission of the crime or stop it from escalating. State parties and indeed even the United Nations always fail to use the term Genocide to describe hostilities that clearly fall within the meaning of the crime of Genocide. Thus, United Nations and state parties usually capitalize on the loopholes and inherent defects in the laws of Genocide to suit their political purposes. For instance the persistence of Genocide in Bangladesh, Uganda, Cambodia, Rwanda (Hutus and Tutsis) and Bosnian Muslims in the former Yugoslavia are testimonies of failure of intervention by the international community to stop high profile atrocities. Indeed, when ethnic cleansing was going on in the territory of former Yugoslavia, Darfur, Rwanda between Tutsis and Hutus, the United Nations, the US government and other countries were called upon to intervened but they failed. Against this backdrop therefore, the objective of this thesis was to identify the factors militating against the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide and to proffer possible measures solutions to addressing them; and further to consider the possibility of adopting same measures in Nigeria so as to eradicate instance of genocide in the country in view of the present Nigerian experiences. In view of this therefore, the finding of the writer was that the general weakness of international law constitutes a major problem of lack of enforcement to the institution of the punishment and prevention of genocide. In this regard, the writer concluded by recommending (among others) that the governments of Member States of the international community particularly the Security Council should be proactive, effective, prompt and jurisprudentially sound on the improvement and enforcement of the international legal processes that hold individuals accountable to the law so that, never again should would-be violators of these laws succeed in claiming that they are entitled to hide behind a wall of sovereignty

CHAPTER ONE

Introduction

Background to the Study

The researcher do not feel the urge to go into the definitions of Persons with disabilities (PWDs), because these are persons that live with us and need no introduction. But for academic purpose: the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) defines Persons with disabilities to include “Those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairment which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.” The term ‘disabilities’ is defined to mean  “a physical, mental or sensory impairment, whether permanent or temporary, that limits the capacity to perform one or more essential activities of daily life, and which can be caused or aggravated by the economic and social environment.” Hence, disability is an umbrella term covering impairments, activity limitations and participation restrictions. According to the Standard Rules on the equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, disability “summarises a great number of different functional limitations occurring in any population in any country of the world. People may be disabled by physical, intellectual or sensory impairment, medical conditions or mental illness. Such impairments, conditions or illnesses may be permanent or transitory in nature.” Persons with disabilities include, but not limited to the blind, persons with low vision, persons with leprosy-cured, the hearing impaired (deaf), persons with locomotors disability, persons living with albinism, the mentally retarded and persons who are mentally ill.

The annual observance of 3 December as the International Day of Disabled Persons was proclaimed in a UN General Assembly Resolution on 14 October, 1992. Prior to this, The United Nations has over the years struggled to put measures in place to see to the recognition of the rights of PWDs both nationally and internationally. While this paper may not dig deep into the history of the rights of PWDs, it is apposite to state that as a result of all the struggles and advocacy over time, the United Nations declared 1981 the International Year of Disabled Persons with the theme: “Full Participation and equality.”

As part of the outcome of the year, the United Nations adopted the ground-breaking policy document; “World Programme of Action for Disabled Persons.” Which clearly defines disability  as a human rights and development issue. This led to the proclamation of the decade of disabled persons and member states were encouraged to utilize the decade to implement and actualize the provisions of the World Programme of Action for disabled persons. The focus of the decade was summarised thus: “… that the United Nations Decade of Disabled Persons has been a period of awareness raising and of action-oriented measures aimed at the continued improvement of persons with disabilities and the equalization of opportunities for them.”

Since 1992, it is an annual ritual to observe the 3^rd day of December as the International Day for Persons with disabilities (referred to here as IDPD). This according to the U.N. is aimed at promoting understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights and well-being of PWDs. It also seeks to increase awareness of gains to be derived from the integration of PWDs in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life. Hence, IDPD is a day set aside to celebrate the contribution of persons with disabilities to the society As well as increase societal awareness and understanding of PWDs and the issues that impact their lives. In other words, the event is to project the abilities of persons with disabilities and underscores the importance of an inclusive society.Download Full Material-N5000