Cultural genocide

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Cultural genocide is a term used to describe the deliberate destruction of the cultural heritage of a people or nation for political or military reasons.

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[edit] United Nations

As early as 1933, Raphael Lemkin proposed a cultural component to genocide, which he called "vandalism".[1] The drafters of the 1948 Genocide Convention dropped the concept from their consideration, however.[2] The legal definition of genocide is confined to acts of physical or biological destruction with intent to destroy a racial, religious, ethnic or national group as such.[3]

Article 7 of the United Nations Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (26 August 1994) defines "Cultural genocide" as follows[4]:

Indigenous peoples have the collective and individual right not to be subjected to ethnocide and cultural genocide, including prevention of and redress for:
(a) Any action which has the aim or effect of depriving them of their integrity as distinct peoples, or of their cultural values or ethnic identities;
(b) Any action which has the aim or effect of dispossessing them of their lands, territories or resources;
(c) Any form of population transfer which has the aim or effect of violating or undermining any of their rights;
(d) Any form of assimilation or integration by other cultures or ways of life imposed on them by legislative, administrative or other measures;
(e) Any form of propaganda directed against them.

It should be noted that this declaration is only a draft. Were it to pass, it would be a "soft law" instrument and would not present binding legal obligations on UN parties.

Despite its lack of legal currency, the term has acquired rhetorical value as a catchphrase for decrying any destruction of cultural heritage, often without regard for the criterion of intent to destroy the affected group as such.

[edit] Examples of the Term's Usage
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The Government of Tibet in Exile and its supporters use the term to describe the activities of the People's Republic of China in Tibet which it claims is destroying ancient Tibetan culture and religion. The activities which the Government in Exile accuses the Chinese government of performing include closing Tibetan Buddhist temples and encouraging outside immigration into Tibet.

Supporters of the People's Republic of China argue that while wishing to stop secessionist activity in Tibet it does not actively desire to see Tibetan culture eradicated. They also claim that it is improper to use such a highly charged word as genocide to describe any cultural change, especially since Chinese policies in Tibet have allegedly been far less assimilationist than the policies of many nations which are making the criticism.

While the term is politically loaded, advocacy groups have used it in connection with various events: the destruction of Armenian churches and Greek/Byzantine monuments in Northern Cyprus [1]; the burning of national archives in Sarajevo; Indian Removal in the United States and similar polices carried out by Australia, Canada and New Zealand aimed at relocating and assimilating indigenous peoples; banning the use of Korean language, Korean traditions, the use of Korean names, or the teaching of Korean history during the Japanese occupation of Korea[5] (1910-1945); the destruction of Armenian stone crosses, cemeteries, and khachkars by Azerbaijan in the region of Nakhichevan[2][6],destruction of Azerbaijani cultural heritage in Armenian captured territories [7], and the destruction of Cambodian monuments and records by the Khmer Rouge, although legal scholars classify the atrocities of that period as an "auto-genocide" rather than group repression. Some critics of the Allied bombing of Dresden have described the destruction of the militarily insignificant but architecturally priceless city by carpet bombing as cultural genocide.

Some nationalists have used the term in decrying a purported downfall of Western civilization due to liberal immigration policies, diversity, and multiculturism. [8] [9].

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Raphael Lemkin, Acts Constituting a General (Transnational) Danger Considered as Offences Against the Law of Nations (J. Fussell trans., 2000) (1933); Raphael Lemkin, Axis Rule in Occupied Europe, p. 91 (1944).
  2. ^ See Prosecutor v. Krstic, Case No. IT-98-33-T (Int'l Crim. Trib. Yugo. Trial Chamber 2001), at para. 576 ("Although the Convention does not specifically speak to the point, the preparatory work points out that the ‘cultural’ destruction of a group was expressly rejected after having been seriously contemplated. The notion of cultural genocide was considered too vague and too removed from the physical or biological destruction that motivated the Convention.").
  3. ^ Convention on Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, art. 2, Dec. 9, 1948, 78 U.N.T.S. 277.
  4. ^ Draft United Nations declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples drafted by The Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities Recalling resolutions 1985/22 of 29 August 1985, 1991/30 of 29 August 1991, 1992/33 of 27 August 1992, 1993/46 of 26 August 1993, presented to the Commission on Human Rights and the Economic and Social Council at 36th meeting 26 August 1994 and adopted without a vote.
  5. ^ http://www.cgs.c.u-tokyo.ac.jp/workshops_e/w_2004_02_23_e.html
  6. ^ Tragedy on the Araxes by Sarah Pickman
  7. ^ the Institute War and Peace Reporting
  8. ^ The Era of Defamation and Multi-Cultural Genocide British National Party claims "multi-cultural genocide" in progress against Britain
  9. ^ John Tyndall Arrested Former Ku-Klux Klan leader David Duke claims cultural genocide against Whites

[edit] External links

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