What is Genocide Convention?
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The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention) is an instrument of international law.
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The Genocide Convention was the first human rights treaty adopted by the General Assembly of the UN on 9 December 1948.
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It signified the international community’s commitment to ‘never again’ after the atrocities committed during the Second World War.
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Its adoption marked a crucial step towards the development of international human rights and international criminal law as we know it today.
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According to the Genocide Convention, genocide is a crime that can take place both in time of war as well as in time of peace.
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The definition of the crime of genocide, as set out in the Convention, has been widely adopted at both national and international levels, including in the 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
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Convention establishes on State Parties the obligation to take measures to prevent and to punish the crime of genocide, including by enacting relevant legislation and punishing perpetrators, “whether they are constitutionally responsible rulers, public officials or private individuals” (Article IV).
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India is a signatory to this convention.