feetofire t1_j952xij wrote on February 19, 2023 at 8:18 AM

This is genocide but no one will say it’s genocide cos then the rest of the world is legally obliged to stop it.

SemperScrotus t1_j9562vh wrote on February 19, 2023 at 9:01 AM

Everyone is calling it a genocide and that's not how international law works. Acknowledging it as genocide doesn't legally obligate anyone to do anything, unfortunately.

feetofire t1_j958mzx wrote on February 19, 2023 at 9:37 AM

Are your referring to article 1 ?

“As customary international law, such obligations are binding on all States, whether or not they have ratified the Genocide Convention. The ICJ has also concluded that the obligation to prevent genocide contained in Article I of the Genocide Convention has an extraterritorial scope.”

“Acts of genocide” infamously were not determined to be the same as genocide in 1994.

“Cultural genocide” / active and forced dispersal of a people, likewise don’t trigger Article 1.

It would seem that we need to wait for charnel houses and gas chambers for maybe some brave member of the human race to act.

Asaruludu t1_j95bbaf wrote on February 19, 2023 at 10:15 AM

Even if it were door to door slaughtering of civilians, it doesn't define the actions that must be taken to prevent it. We've planned to reduce fuel purchases over the next five years and have written a strongly-worded letter of protest. Problem solved.

Youtube_actual t1_j95831u wrote on February 19, 2023 at 9:29 AM

That is because the legal definition of genocide requires two layers of intent. First you have to do acts of genocide intentionally, like stealing children. Second for it to be a genocide it has to be proven that the acts of genocide was done with the goal of destroying a national group in whole or in part.

So everyone agrees that russia are commiting acts of genocide but it's still not proven that this is their goal.

And no it's not a legal obligation for anyone to do anything unless the UN security Council decides to do something. And Russia has a veto there.

There is currently a case in the international court of justice about Russian claims of genocide in Ukraine. So far the court has decided that russia is legally obliged to withdraw untill its clear that ukraine is commiting genocide (they are not), but the fear in the west is that ICJ will decide that genocide does not mean that anyone can intervene at all without UNSC approval.

This also what made the NATO bombing of kosovo illegal. NATO did not have a right to intervene, but at the same time not many countries felt like condemning them for breaking international law in that case since they indeed stopped a genocide.

CallidoraBlack t1_j95kdbl wrote on February 19, 2023 at 12:20 PM

Russia should be excluded from that vote because it's about them, but they also have won over China for exactly that reason.