60 years after the UN Convention - Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation

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10 development dialogue december 2008 – revisiting the heart of darkness The current shift in emphasis modifi es both the international political context, as well as the scholarly debate on genocide and other related forms of crimes against humanity as represented by acts of mass violence against a civilian population in a variety of contexts and forms. The Stockholm International Forum series, during which the Offi ce of the Prime Minister of Sweden organised four international conferences between 2000 and 2004, is an illustration of this current debate on a variety of levels not only of academic but also of political relevance. 9 The studies on the origins, historical and social contexts, as well as the concrete forms of genocide and related acts of mass violence require further analyses also in a comparative perspective. This includes a focus on the South and a variety of actors at diff erent times and places, from mass violence perpetrated during the process of colonisation, to oppression under colonial rule, during anti-colonial struggles as well as under post-colonial regimes. The broadening of the approach towards concepts and victims of violence will, however, also have to re-assess current notions and move beyond the ordinary confi nement to the war or confl ict scenario. There is a need to include forms of gender-based violence, consequences of ecologically changing environments as a result of human interventions and the eff ects of climate change for the survival of people (and the threat to it), as well as other eff ects of structurally induced violence – such as HIV/AIDS and its non-treatment. These approaches off er necessary complements to the schools of thoughts under genocide studies guided by a wider perspective, including related forms of mass violence. They add to the existing body of knowledge by positioning mass violence during diff erent times and in diff erent social and historical formations in various regions in relation to the current debates under genocide studies. The results of such eff orts should not be confi ned to academically oriented discourses but should as much address the political dimension of the subject as an integral part of the eff ort to come to terms with the massive challenge of responsible global governance. Not least, the United Nations and its organs should respond anew to the challenges that have confronted humanity to no lesser extent since the dark chapter of the Holocaust enforced an international collective responsibility to protect. 9 The conferences focused on: The Holocaust – Education, Remembrance and Research (2000), Combating Intolerance (2001), Truth, Justice and Reconciliation (2002), and Preventing Genocide – Threats and Responsibilities (2004). Each of the conferences produced a comprehensive summary report on the deliberations. For a fi nal documentation (which includes a CD containing full documentation of the four conferences), see Fried, Eva (ed.) (2005), Beyond the ‘Never Agains’, Stockholm: Regeringskansliet.
introduction 11 Refl ecting such understanding, this issue of Development Dialogue is published on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Genocide Convention. It does not limit itself to explore the scope, perspectives and limitations of the normative framework created and more recently also applied in a few cases. Nor does it only point to the many failures. More so, the contributions seek to explore further the socio-historical and -political contexts of genocide and mass violence and test the common approaches against analyses of social realities as well as theories. The historical dimension is of signifi cance to many of the chapters presented. While they are rooted mainly in scholarship and presented in an academic fashion in the fi rst part, the voices articulated during the Voksenåsen conference as documented in the second part do argue more from a politically and morally guided form of engagement. The revised edited versions have with one exception retained the original character of less academic presentations. This blend seeks to acknowledge the need to unite diff erently posed concerns and appeals in their common eff orts to examine further the notion of genocide (as well as its limitations), with the aim of reducing the risks that history repeats itself. The fourth and last conference on genocide in the Stockholm International Forum series in 2004 adopted a Declaration, which stated, inter alia: We are committed to educating the youth and the wider public against genocidal dangers of all kinds through formal and informal educational structures. We are also committed to disseminating knowledge of these dangers to those involved in government, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, humanitarian and peace support operations and the media. […] We are committed to cooperating in our search for eff ective measures against genocidal dangers with all members of the family of nations, in the United Nations and other relevant global and regional organizations as well as with non-governmental organizations, labour organizations, the media and with business and academic communities. 10 By having been involved in the two conferences, in Uppsala (December 2006) and Voksenåsen/Oslo (November 2007), and herewith presenting relevant parts of their deliberations, the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation seeks to contribute to the implementation of such intentions and to honour the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Genocide Convention. 10 Quoted from ibid., p. 141.
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In short, both the understanding of
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Behind most mass violence lurk econ
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ehind most mass violence lurk econo
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The Voksenåsen Statement Genocides
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This Development Dialogue is publis
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60 years after the UN Convention - Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation

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