Genocide Awareness
- APRIL -
Genocide Awareness and Prevention Month - Why April?
The 20th Century is often referred to as the “Century of Genocide.” Unfortunately, this trend has continued into the 21st Century. Many of these genocides either began in April or include significant events which occurred in April.
Genocide Awareness and Prevention Month - History
According to NPR News:
April 1915
April 1933
April 1975
April 1992
April 2003
April 2011-18
April 2019
April 2020
April 2024
The Ottoman Turkish government began rounding up and murdering Armenian politicians and intellectuals. This was the first step in the extermination of more than a million Armenians.
The Nazis began a nationwide boycott of Jewish shops and businesses. This decree paved the way for the “final solution,” the annihilation of 6 million Jews of Europe.
The Khmer Rouge entered the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh, and launched a four-year wave of mass destruction, killing 2 million people.
The siege of Sarajevo began in Bosnia. It was the longest in modern history resulting in the deaths of more than 10,000 people, including children.
Innocent civilians in Sudan’s Darfur region were attacked; since then at least 400,000 have been killed and 2.5 million have become refugees.
Protests against the Syrian government which began in March intensify and the Syrian army is deployed and fires on civilians.
Chemical weapons and TNT bombs used on civilians: 500,000 Dead, 1,600,000 Injured, 11,000,000 Displaced
Over 500,000 starving under siege - this is Syria 2018
The Rohingya Genocide - Myanmar
The International Court of Justice in The Hague has ordered Myanmar to prevent a further genocide of the country's remaining Rohingya Muslims - the target of a brutal army crackdown that led to the deaths of tens of thousands and forced 700,000 to flee from Myanmar to Bangladesh between 2016-2019.
Cultural Genocide of Uighur Muslims in China
Beginning as early as 2016 Chinese Government officials initiated a cultural genocide against the Uighur and other Muslim minorities in the country's western region of Xinjiang. An estimated 1 - 1.5 million Uighurs have been held in detention camps for "retraining." It is believed that many have not been released and have died in the camps.
Rwanda will hold week of commemorations marking 30th anniversary of 1994 genocide. As Rwanda marks three decades since the genocide, President Paul Kagame says the international community failed them. An estimated 800,000 people were killed by government-backed extremists.
10 Things You Can Do During Genocide Awareness and Prevention Month
Today, we continue to see evidence of crimes against humanity, including those that continue to occur in Ukraine, and we remain vigilant, as history has shown they are the foundations from which genocides have begun in the past.
- Practice being an Upstander: Sociologists report that people who rescued during the Holocaust often reported that altruistic actions were normal to their everyday lives. Build this habit into your life by doing something kind for someone else during the month. An act of kindness each day would be a honorable goal!
- Check with your local school or public library to discover what genocide resources are needed in its library and provide funding for one or two books.
- Attend the William H. Donat Shoah Commemoration April 27th at 7:00 p.m. at Iona College which will include a lecture by Dan McMillan, author of The Holocaust: Explaining How This Could Happen. Information and registration will be available at William H. Donat Shoah Commemoration.
- Learn more about the Rwandan Genocide. April 6 marks the 28th anniversary of the start of this event. The Kigali Memorial Center offers documentation and survivor testimony of the genocide (Kigali Memorial Centre), and BBC offers an excellent overview of the events of the genocide. You can also learn how the country is commemorating the genocide from this current article.
- Learn about the Genocide Prevention Task Force by visiting the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum at United States Holocaust Memorial Museum/Genocide Prevention
- Visit the Genocide Watch website to learn about Dr. Gregory Stanton’s framework for examining genocide, the “10 Stages of Genocide”, and the recommended preventative steps you can take to stop genocide early.
- Learn more about the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), a relatively new doctrine that informs much of genocide prevention today on their website.
- Find a legislative champion to support designating April as Genocide Awareness and Protection Month in New York. California, Indiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Ohio have designated April as Genocide Awareness Month.
- Listen to the personal histories of different genocides provided by the USC Shoah Foundation at Genocide Awareness Month.
- Support the work of the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center by making a donation here.
News on Genocide History and War Crimes
ABC News 3/3/22 - Putin has been accused of committing war crimes. But could the International Criminal Court bring him to justice?
CNN 3/3/22 “Everything you need to know about war crimes and how Putin could be prosecuted” - Analysis by Zachary B. Wolf, CNN
https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/03/politics/putin-war-crimes-russia-ukraine-us-what-matters/index.html -
Updated 12:27 PM ET, Fri March 4, 2022