The Value of Remembrance: UNPO Statement on First Genocide Victims Day
Following a resolution adopted by the General Assembly earlier this year, the United Nations has decided to mark 9 December as the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime. UNPO believes that memory can be a powerful instrument, not only to honour the victims of genocide, but also to raise the voices of those communities currently still living in fear.
In 2015, the world commemorated the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camp in Auschwitz, the 20th anniversary of the genocide in Srebrenica, and the 50th anniversary of the Indonesian massacre. While genocide can be legally defined as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group” [1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide], to many minorities and peoples around the world, genocide represents daily and multifaceted violations of their fundamental rights – simply for belonging to a particular group.
Some of UNPO members carry the heavy burden of memory of genocide, many times by honouring their friends and families who were victims of this crime. The Crimean Tatars for instance, live in despair, uneasy about the possible consequences of Russia’s annexation of Crimea, as the memory of the 1944 eviction and genocide, which saw the death of at least 100,000 Tatars, remains fresh in their minds. Similarly, the Assyrians still struggle to ensure the respect for the victims of the Assyrian genocide during the First World War, which led to the mass slaughter of over 100,000 Assyrians in the former Ottoman Empire and Persia.
Ethnic minorities in Iraq (such as the Iraq Turkmen and the Yazidis) are clear examples of how genocide is an on-going threat and practice in the 21st century. Between the Islamic State and widespread discrimination and violence, they are particularly targeted due to their ethnicity and/or religion.
On the occasion of Genocide Victim Day, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon highlighted that “genocide does not just happen; it unfolds over time”. Therefore, only by understanding the past, can the international community identify today’s “unfolding” incidences, which may lead to catastrophic consequences and even darker chapters in humanity’s story.
Today, UNPO:
- Extends its condolences to the victims’ families and friends;
- Highlights that unrepresented minorities, nations and peoples are often systematically and fall victim to myriad and intersecting human rights violations, often constituting genocide;
- Calls upon states to carry out their international and humanitarian obligation to prevent, investigate and remediate genocide;
UNPO would like to echo the appeal of UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, who said: “On this new international observance, let us recognize the need to work together more concertedly to protect individuals from gross human rights violations and uphold our common humanity”.
