Genocide is the destruction of a people through targeted violence. The term genocide was coined by Polish-Jewish lawyer Raphael Lemkin in the early 1940s.

Nov 24, 2025 · Genocide, the deliberate and systematic destruction of a group of people because of their ethnicity, nationality, religion, or race. The term was derived from the Greek genos (‘race,’ …

In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: Forcibly...

Genocide as a term did not exist before 1944. Learn about its origins and legal definition.

Sep 12, 2025 · The Genocide Convention defines the crime according to five acts. To be considered genocide, those acts must be carried out with the “intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national,...

Dec 12, 2025 · What does “genocide” mean, and what courts decide whether one happened under international law? We spoke to genocide scholars and looked at precedent.

What is Genocide? The term “genocide” was coined by Raphäel Lemkin in 1944 in his book Axis Rule in Occupied Europe. Genocide was first recognized as a crime under international law in 1946 by the …