An unprecedented coalition of victims of genocide, including representatives from Darfur and Rwanda, spoke out against the dangers of state-sanctioned incitement to genocide on the same day that Iranian President Ahmadinejad addressed the UN General Assembly. Speakers included:
- Amb. Richard Holbrooke, Former U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Architect of the Dayton Agreement on Bosnia
The full title of the 1948 Genocide Convention is the “Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide.” We must focus on prevention. Ahmadinejad is at the UN – we can’t stop him from speaking there – but we should never invite him to speak anywhere else. He uses these forums to legitimize himself in Iran. - Prof. Gregory Gordon, Former Legal Officer, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
The origins of the legal definition of incitement to genocide are with the case against Nazi Julius Streicher, publisher of Der Stuermer. In 1946 the Nuremberg Court found his incitement to kill Jews constituted a crime against humanity. Genocide does not take place without incitement. - Dr. Dore Gold, Former Israeli Ambassador to the UN
The international community is engaged in a struggle to understand who Ahmadinejad is and what his role is. He’s trying to become a legitimate world leader, but he should be in the box of a war criminal. - Esther Mujawayo, Survivor of the Rwanda Genocide in 1994
At the time of the Rwanda Genocide in 1994, the official propaganda of the government prior to and during the genocide, via newspapers and radio, was to promote hatred of the Tutsis. Hearing Ahmadinejad in the UN makes me doubt that the international community has learned its lesson. - Salih Mahmoud Osman, Member of Parliament in Sudan, Human Rights Actvist-Darfur
Why is the situation in Darfur happening after the Rwanda genocide? It is largely caused by government incitement of racial hatred, denying peoples’ identity. - Prof. Irwin Cotler, Member of Parliament, Canada, Former Attorney General and Justice Minister
States that are parties to the Convention against Genocide ignore that they have not only a right but a responsibility to prevent incitement to genocide. The failure of state parties and the UN to act is a fatal blow to the corpus of international law and to the UN, especially to the Genocide Convention. The international community must promote preventative action.
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