Ronald Dellums: “I rise today to discuss genocide. According to the Genocide Convention, genocide constitutes killings and other acts…”

“I rise today to discuss genocide. According to the Genocide Convention, genocide constitutes killings and other acts done ``with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.'' Genocide has occurred throughout history. Genocide is a crime that has been committed far too many times than we want to acknowledge. It has been committed by many peoples against those perceived as ethnically or religiously different. Many of its perpetrators have gone unpunished; many of its victims have gone unrecognized. We are immediately reminded of the genocide committed by the Nazi Germans against the European Jews during World War II. Mournful remembrance of its 6 million victims was commemorated by this body this past week. Less known is the genocide committed by the Nazi Germans against the Slavic peoples during World War II. More recently, we are reminded of the genocide committed by the Hutus against the Tutsis in Rwanda beginning April 6, 1994. One million were estimated killed; 2 million were forced to flee to neighboring countries. Neither can we forget the genocide committed during the past 5 years by the Orthodox Christian Serbs against the Muslim Slavs in the former Yugoslavia. The total number dead and homeless have yet to be determined. In addition to these, we need to be reminded of another--the genocide of Armenians by the Ottoman Turks, which occurred between 1915 and 1923.”