Conference: The Genocide Convention: International Conference Commemorating its 60th Anniversary

The International Research and Documentation Centre for War Crimes Trials (ICWC) at the University of Marburg has organized an international conference, December 4-6, 2008, in Marburg and Frankfurt, to discuss relevant issues concerning the Genocide Convention upon its sixtieth anniversary. The program is here. Why attend?

On 8 December 1948 the General Assembly of the UN adopted a Convention establishing "Genocide" as a criminal norm. However, it took fifty years until this crime was prosecuted before an international criminal tribunal in the Akayesu Case before the ICTR. Even if the crime of genocide is perceived of as the worst of all international crimes, its application is anything but clear. In addition there is a certain conflict between genocide as a criminal norm and the prohibition of genocide as an obligation under public international law. The 60th Anniversary of the Genocide Convention is a perfect time to reflect on the origins of the Convention, its present difficulties and the future prospects.