Genocide

Why did the lawyers at the Madrid Conference fail to support the law proposed by Lemkin?

Lawyers felt crimes took place years before and it happened rarely so it wasn't a concern. They also felt that international law should only deal with how nations act on a global stage and not how they conduct business within their own boarders

Identify three major points of the Genocide Convention.

Made genocide a crime. Obligated it signers to prevent, suppress, and punish genocide. Held violators responsible whether they attacked another state or acted inside their own boarders.

state sovereignty

States ability to conduct itself freely without interference from the outside.

What mechanism do supporters of the ICC say is in place to prevent some of the problems the United States believes are in the ICC treaty?

Supporters of the ICC feel that those needs are met because a nation can investigate and try its own citizens for crimes so the ICC will not have jurisdiction.

What problems did the United States initially see with the Genocide Convention?

language of the treaty. They were concerned because there wasn't a specific number of deaths used to define genocide. also worried about it affecting states rights. The United States also was afraid that the language opened the door for outside forces to use it against the U.S.

List four legal principles that emerged from the Nuremberg Trials

1. Commits an act which constitutes a crime under international law is responsible therefore and liable to punishment. 2. Impose a penalty for an act which constitutes a crime under international law does not relieve the person who committed the act from responsibility under international law. 3. Head of State or responsible government official does no relieve him (or her) from responsibility under international law. 4. Pursuant to order of his (or her) government or of a superior does no relieve him (or her) from responsibility under international law, provided a moral choice was in fact possible to him (or her)

What crimes were the defendants accused of at the Nuremberg Trials?

24 Nazis charged with crimes against peace, crimes against humanity, and violating the rules of war.

Define genocide.

A coordinated plan to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group by killing, causing serious bodily or mental harm, in- flicting conditions designed to bring about its destruction, preventing births within the group, or removing children from the group.

List two instances of cooperation by the international community that occurred directly after World War II.

Great Britain, United States, and Soviet Union signed the Moscow Declaration declaring that the enemy's war crimes could not go unpunished. The Nuremberg Trials, where 24 Nazis were put on trial for committing crimes against humanity

The United States has not ratified the treaty to participate in the International Criminal Court (ICC). Why not?

They fear that it could lead to unfair prosecutions and feel that some of the language goes against rights found in the Constitution.

Why did some countries criticize the U.S.-led interventions in northern Iraq and in Kosovo?

They feel that the U.S. and its allies have resisted intervention in areas where they do not have financial interests or military bases. Like in the case of Kosovo the opposition felt that the U.S.'s concern for human rights was a ploy to bolster their influence in the region.