The Obligation To Prevent Genocide

By Patrick Butchard, Philip Loft

Genocide is a crime under international law, according to the United Nations General Assembly. The 1948 Genocide Convention, which has 153 parties requires party states to punish those responsible for genocide. The convention also requires states to prevent genocide from occurring. While it does not set out how they must do this, judgments on cases before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) have clarified some details of the obligation. What are a state’s obligations in international law? Judicial decisions from the International Court of Justice suggest that: • States are required to try to prevent genocide, but they do not breach their obligation if they fail. – They must still try even if they think their actions will not succeed

– What counts as a reasonable attempt at preventing genocide will depend on a state’s circumstances. • States must take action to prevent genocide as soon as they become aware there is a serious risk of it. • Genocide must actually occur for a state to be in breach of its obligation to prevent it. • Measures to prevent genocide might include engaging with bodies of the UN, such as the Security Council, or directly with other states. • States are unlikely to be allowed under international law to use military force against another state in an attempt to prevent genocide.