- cross-posted to:
- [email protected]
- cross-posted to:
- [email protected]
“What’s happening in Gaza is not genocide. We reject that,” Biden said at a Jewish American Heritage Month event at the White House.
I can’t tell if he’s pandering or trying to lose the election
Oh, well it’s totally okay then. /s
He’s might be technically right so far, since most of the population is still standing, but depending on where things go next this line could be remembered along with “peace in our time”.
Genocide, per it’s UN definition, just requires “actions with the intend to destroy, in whole or in part”. So no, just because they’re not done yet doesn’t mean it’s not genocide
Doesn’t that make every war genocide?
sorry, left out part of the definition:
So destroying a military - no, destroying a national or racial group - yes
Don’t stop there:
The popular understanding of what constitutes genocide tends to be broader than the content of the norm under international law. Article II of the Genocide Convention contains a narrow definition of the crime of genocide, which includes two main elements:
A mental element: the “intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such”; and
A physical element, which includes the following five acts, enumerated exhaustively:
The intent is the most difficult element to determine. To constitute genocide, there must be a proven intent on the part of perpetrators to physically destroy a national, ethnical, racial or religious group. Cultural destruction does not suffice, nor does an intention to simply disperse a group. It is this special intent, or dolus specialis, that makes the crime of genocide so unique. In addition, case law has associated intent with the existence of a State or organizational plan or policy, even if the definition of genocide in international law does not include that element.
You don’t need to be successful to have committed the crime.
I see it as a classic intent vs outcome. If someone tries to commit atrocities and fails then their moral character is just as bad. People can change and reform but the attempt, exuberance, and time involved are all bigger signals than how the victim is affected. Incompetence can’t be a defense for evil at a certain point.