A STUDY ON THE NEED TO INCLUDE ‘POLITICAL GROUPS’ WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THE 1948 CONVENTION ON GENOCIDE

AUTHOR – VARADA HAWALDAR, STUDENT AT SCHOOL OF LAW, CHRIST

BEST CITATION – VARADA HAWALDAR, A STUDY ON THE NEED TO INCLUDE ‘POLITICAL GROUPS’ WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THE 1948 CONVENTION ON GENOCIDE, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 4 (1) OF 2024, PG. 421-428, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.

Abstract:

One major obstacle to the Genocide Convention’s effectiveness in resolving modern disputes is the historical reasoning behind the exclusion of certain political groups from it. Political group exclusions hinder the Convention’s capacity to fully address cases of genocide in modern conflicts, where non-state players and political connections are crucial.

The exclusion of political groupings is against both more comprehensive human rights standards and the increasing understanding of genocidal activities. To achieve a more equitable legal system, the paper highlights that the Convention must be aligned with the core values of human rights, especially protecting persons from discrimination and persecution based on political convictions. Further, such a measure would ensure that this loophole in the law is not taken advantage of to escape punishment for genocide and that the Convention can better protect such vulnerable groups.

This paper argues that the Convention’s recognition of political groups as protected categories is an essential step to be undertaken to ensure that international law complies with the complexity of contemporary conflicts. It studies the various instances of political genocide and the lack of the Convention while adequately dealing with the same.  The author has relied on existing research, cases, and available data. 

Keywords: Genocide, Political Groups, International Law, Genocide Convention