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Mass crimes against humanity & genocide

Quotations:

	"The death of one man is a tragedy; The death of a million is a statistic." This is commonly attributed to Joseph Stalin, although there is no real evidence that he ever said it.
	"Kill a man, and you are an assassin. Kill millions of men, and you are a conqueror. Kill everyone, and you are a god." Jean Rostand.
	"People don't simply wake up one day and commit genocide. They start by setting themselves apart from others, diminishing the stature of those adhering to dissenting beliefs in small, insidious steps. They begin by saying, 'We're the righteous, and we'll tolerate those others.' And as the toleration diminishes over time, the inevitable harms are overlooked. It is for that reason that James Madison wisely wrote that 'it is proper to take alarm at the first experiment on our liberties'." Michael Newdow 1

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Overview:

Mass murder and genocide in recent years have involved:

	The execution of individuals who have simply decided to change their religion,
	Mass murder of followers of a minority religion by members of a dominant religion,
	Mass murder of followers of one faith group by others who belong to the same religion.
	Mass murder and genocide of an identifiable group for a variety of reasons.

It appears that:

	The persecution and mass murder of European Jews by Christians from 306 to 1945 CE was the longest lasting mass crime against humanity, culminating with the genocide by Nazis during World War II.
	The mass murder by the communist government of the USSR of 20 or more million of its citizens  (1917 to 1987), and by the communist government of China of about 35 million of its citizens  (1949 to 1987) probably involved the greatest loss of life. It is difficult to be certain because accurate data is impossible to obtain. Governments normally do not publish figures for the number of their citizens that they exterminate.
	It appears that Christians are more often martyred in recent years because of their faith than followers of any other religion. Murders of Christians peaked at about 160,000 during the year 2000. This was about one Christian murdered every five minutes. A major effect of these killings is the decimation of Christian communities in the Middle East as many of them attempt to emigrate to other countries where they can life free of threats to their lives. By early 2019, murders of Christians because of religion had dropped to about 4,000 a year. 6

One of the main motivations for the creation of the United Nations in 1945 was to prevent future mass crimes against humanity and genocides. In this role, the UN has not done well. Since 2010, governments continue committing or allowing mass crimes against humanity including the victimization of:

• Aboriginals, Christians, and Muslims in Sudan;
  
  
• Roma in parts of Europe; and
  
  
• Christians in Plateau State, Nigeria.
  
  
• Gays, lesbians and bisexuals who engage in same-sex sexual activity. The government of Uganda introduced a bill to legalize the judicial genocide of gays. The law was passed in 2014-JUN. It punishes what it calls "aggravated homosexuality," with a sentence of life imprisonment for repeat offenses. The death penalty which formed part of the initial bill was later deleted. ₅
  
  

Topics covered in this section are:

	Definitions of genocide. Genocide conventions Genocide Convention Implementation Act: The U.S. Proxmire Act Genocide-lite: the term "Ethnic cleansing"
	About genocide: Events leading to genocide Discouraging future genocides by holding perpetrators responsible 1987 to 2008 2009 to the present time Preventing future genocides through government action
	Past persecutions, crimes against humanity and genocides -- primarily religiously based A brief list of some genocides in biblical and modern times: Part 1  Part 2 Genocide during biblical times Pagan and Christian persecution of Jews 70 CE to now   Description of genocides from 1450 to 1903 CE Slavery in the U.S. (1607 to 1865) Christian persecution of "Satan worshipers" and other heretics 1450 to 1792 CE Against Native Americans   Description of genocides from 1904 to 1945 including the Armenian Genocide and Nazi Holocaust. Description of genocides from 1946 until now
	The most serious crimes against humanity and genocides of the 20th century: Genocide in the Congo Free State by King Leopold II of Belgium   The Nazi genocide / Shoah / Devouring: Admission of governments' complicity in the Nazi Holocaust Anti-semitism and the Catholic church Financial compensation for Nazi slave laborers 2006 conference in Iran of Nazi Holocaust deniers An anti-Muslim hoax Email about the teaching of the Holocaust
	Currently active and recent mass murders, potential genocides, and genocides: Against aboriginals In the Sudan In Chechnya in Papua In North Korea Proposed genocidal law In Uganda

Related essays at this website:

	The 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
	Human rights defined, denied and restored: State sovereignty vs. individual human rights.
	Currently active civil disturbances and wars with a religious component.

References used:

The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.

1. Michael Newdow, "Judge Roy Moore Deserves Jail. How is this in any way different from David Koresh's refusal to abide by the commands of the federal agents in Waco?," Beliefnet.com, 2003-AUG, at:  http://www.beliefnet.com/"
2. Genocide," at: http://www.encyclopedia.com/
3. "20th Century Democide," at: http://www.mega.nu:8080/ 
4. Raphael Lemkin, "Axis Rule in Occupied Europe," (1944), Page 79.
5. "Uganda passes draconian anti-gay law," Genocide Watch, 2014-JUN-25, at: http://genocidewatch.net/
6. Lindy Lowry, "11 Christians Killed Every Day for Their Decision to Follow Jesus," Open Doors, 2019-MAR-13, at: https://www.opendoorsusa.org/

Copyright © 2001 to 2019by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Originally written: 2001-JAN-1, at the beginning of a new millennium
Latest update: 2019-JUN-03
Author: B.A. Robinson

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