Genocide free essay sample

An historical look at the genocides perpetrated in Rwanda and Kosovo and the UNs involvement. This paper examines the historical context of these two ethnic cleansing genocides that occurred in the late twentieth century. It looks at lessons the world should have learned from the Holocaust in World War II and analyzes the United Nations involvement and role in preventing these atrocities. Many people who lived through World War II will never forget the sights of thousands of Jewish bodies thrown into mass graves after the Nazi Holocaust. To most people it was unimaginable- the extent of the death and destruction. Winston Churchill called it a crime that has no name (www.un.org 2001). Winston Churchill was correct in his observation. Despite the numerous occurrences in history, the word genocide as a legal term and an international sanction did not exist until 1951 (www.un.org 2001). It was 1951 that the U. We will write a custom essay sample on Genocide or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page N. made a treaty defining and criminalizing genocide, entitled The Convention of the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. In the last fifty years, the world has witnessed many horrendous massacres of civilian populations, in Cambodia, Bangladesh, and elsewhere, for which the political will was lacking to organize a war crimes tribunal. Now, the international climate supports the creation of the first two war crimes tribunals since the Nazis at Nuremburg, those for Rwanda and Kosovo.