Though its roots go back to early civilizations, genocide officially became a crime just over 50 years ago. In 1948 the Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide was adopted by the United Nations; it was put into force in 1951 after two-thirds of the UN member parties ratified it. Drafted in the wake of the Holocaust, it defines and outlaws the crime of genocide. The United States did not ratify the convention until 1988—40 years after its conception, and only with the proviso that the U.S. was immune from prosecution of genocide without its consent.

During those 40 years, genocidal acts continued in Cambodia and other places, yet the UN took no action. Finally, in 1993 the UN Security Council implemented the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia. A similar tribunal was opened for genocide-related crimes in Rwanda in 1995.

While some justice has been served, these ad hoc tribunals were not the independent international court the 1948 convention had envisioned. So, in a 1998 UN conference, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court was established. The court came into force in 2002, after the agreement was ratified by 60 of the signatory countries. In that same year, after the Clinton Administraion signed the treaty in 2000, the U.S. government formally announced its intention not to ratify the treaty. Why did the U.S. pull out? The court would subject U.S. nationals to a uniform global standard of justice (for a chronology of U.S. opposition to the ICC. In short, the U.S. fears it could potentially be subject to prosecution by the court.

Not only has the U.S. refused to support the court, it has also actively tried to undermine it. One example is U.S. opposition to the ICC opening trials for gross human rights abuses in the Darfur region of Sudan. In June 2005 though, the International Criminal Court opened prosecution for the killings in Darfur.

Prosecution and punishment are steps in the right direction, but where does the world stand on the prevention of genocide? In 2004, 55 world governments (including the United States) released the Stockholm Declaration on Genocide Prevention, the conclusion of an intergovernmental conference on genocide prevention. Historically, the world has not acted quickly enough to prevent genocide. While this preventative declaration speaks strongly and outlines firm commitments, it is important to note that the UN is busy with internal reforms. So, for concerned global citizens, it is imperative to recognize and support the many worldwide nongovernmental organizations dedicated to the prevention of genocide.

—Sean O'Connor