Genocide Convention 70 years later: Vision lives on despite setbacks

Today marks the 70th anniversary of the Genocide Convention.  Catalyzed by the “never again” sentiment pervading the aftermath of World War II, the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide codified and outlawed this most heinous and unconscionable of crimes.  The Genocide Convention has been ratified by 149 member states.  But ratification and implementation are two very different things, as many human rights-related mechanisms have shown us.

While prevention is difficult to measure, we have incontrovertibly seen many failures of genocide prevention over the past 70 years.  In the latter part of the 20th century, we bore witness to the Khmer Rouge’s campaign in Cambodia, the targeting of Kurds in Iraq, the extermination of Tutsis in Rwanda, and the slaughter at Srebrenica.  Then came Darfur, which shocked the conscience and prompted action, including the birth of Jewish World Watch.  In recent years, the Yazidis of Iraq and the Rohingya of Myanmar have joined the ranks of persecuted peoples targeted for annihilation because of who they are. 

Although there have been failures of prevention — with devastating consequences — we at JWW take solace in the hope that our work to ring the alarm, empower affected communities, and inspire future leaders, both at the locus of atrocities and here in the U.S., moves us closer to the noble aspirations enshrined in the Genocide Convention, one life at a time. 

Every day, we support projects to counter the main drivers of genocide and mass atrocities — hate speech, gender-based violence as a weapon of war, child soldiering, the illicit exploitation of natural resources.  Every day we help a child go to school rather than join an armed group out of desperation and hopelessness.  Every day we help provide transformational healing, not only to survivors, but also to those raised amidst violence who have simply lost their way.  Every day we amplify the voices of the resilient, incredible people who yearn to rebuild their lives after enduring unfathomable pain, body and soul.  We have seen what a small but mighty organization like JWW can do to slowly shift the status quo and help communities to build a buffer against intractable violence.  We could not do any of this without your support.  Thank you for actively engaging in the fight and believing in a better world.  Prevention may be hard to measure and take an awfully long time, but the world would be far worse without the work of JWW and kindred organizations around the world … that, I can guarantee you.    

Today and every day, let us celebrate the vision of a world without genocide.  Today and every day, let us recommit to never again stand idly by.