ElectraSecond's IR updates- let's talk about genocide
Added 2019-07-05 02:29:19 +0000 UTCOk, so obviously this topic is pretty serious.
We're getting into human rights issues, and they're important. One thing to remember when talking about human rights is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which I've attached in PDF. It's... very long, for good reasons.
The long-unupdated "Human Rights Web" has a good summary here, breaking up some of these parts into easier concepts. Today, we're only looking at genocide.
http://www.hrweb.org/legal/undocs.html
I only take you to the nicest of places, don't I?
This convention bans acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group. It declares genocide a crime under international law whether committed during war or peacetime, and binds all signators of the convention to to take measures to prevent and punish any acts of genocide committed within their jurisdiction. The act bans killing of members of any racial, ethnic, national or religious group because of their membership in that group, causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group, inflicting on members of the group conditions of life intended to destroy them, imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group, and taking group members' children away from them and giving them to members of another group.
I can't get rid of all the hyperlinks because this posting mechanism is a nightmare from the Deep, but I italicized and bolded what I want to talk about today.
Genocide isn't straightforward. It isn't narrowly defined as killing other people, because there are a myriad of other ways to eliminate these groups of people. In fact, this definition doesn't explicitly denounce one method of genocide that has been used since time immemorial: rape with the intention of conception. The idea there is that the baby would be part of the "desired" or empowered group committing genocide, thereby after time and probably more rape, the targeted group would disappear.
Please take a break here to watch Japanese zoo animal escape drills *featuring some dude in a mascot costume* and then come back:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Psdh_M-zbvY
Okay, to the matter at hand. Other historical practices of genocide don't look like extermination camps (those camps whose primary function is killing, as opposed to concentration camps, whose primary purpose is detention). They look like taking children from one group, and giving them to another. This is how the USA destroyed so much of Native American culture- by taking children from their parents, forcing them to communicate only in English, and depriving them not only of their families but their cultures.
It's not uncommon, and it has not stopped at any point. Native newborns have been stolen from their mothers on the same day they were born due to "neglect". The current administration has "misplaced" hundreds of migrant children who are increasingly suspected as of having been placed into Christian-based adoption services (one of which has Secretary Betsy DeVos as a long-time supporter). It's important to note that these children were often, if not mostly attended by their parents and then purposely separated by Border Patrol or the DHS at large. Significant numbers of children who are detained at the border or whom are missing have family members who are US citizens. Sometimes, they themselves are citizens.
Puppy break- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMlGBFXiC00
This seems like a good time to mention that while the USA was a founding member of the UN, it didn't even ratify the Universal Declaration of Human Rights until 1992.
https://www.cartercenter.org/news/documents/doc1369.html
1992.
China has never ratified the UDHR. While the intricacies of international law make it hard for any state, whether it has ratified these laws or not, to be punished or held accountable by the global community, China stands apart as being one of the few countries to refuse even this acknowledgement of human rights. Those counries include Saudi Arabia, whose Prince has been determined to have ordered the recent death and dismemberment of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and South Africa- a country famous for its Apartheid policy.
Which brings me to what brought this lecture up- a BBC article regarding the Uighur in China.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-48825090
The article takes a long time (the literal end) to determine what even a cursory reading could tell us. China is engaging in at least one form of genocide. As is, most likely, the USA.
Now, for some less- horrifying news.
What can you do about it? Depends on your location and citizenship. For the situation in the Americas, (partly brought about by global warming making subsistence farming in the dry corridor impossible, as well as other issues I won't get into today), you can call your representatives, and senators, at both the state and local level, to protect people from being separated, detained, and deported. If you are not an American citizen or you have the cash, please donate to RAICES Texas.
Anyone can write to their government representatives that they are concerned with the treatment of the Uighur population in China, which, if adequately supported, could lead to economic and political pressure being placed on China's government.
And of course, you can support the UN, by the same mechanisms (constituent contact) or by applying to work for them in the future. The Young Professionals Programme is an initiative to bring more young people from diverse countries into the U.N., and I encourage anyone to check it out here: https://careers.un.org/lbw/home.aspx?viewtype=NCE
If you have any further questions, or suggestions for topics, please send them to the inbox.
