June 1st 2025.
On 9 February 2022, the government was posed with an important question during the Rajya Sabha session: Has India ratified the Genocide Convention, as passed by the UN General Assembly? And if so, has the government enacted any laws to address genocide?
In response, the Modi government stated that India had indeed signed the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in 1948 and ratified it in 1959. This means that India recognizes genocide as an international crime, and the principles outlined in the Convention are already a part of our common law. Additionally, our Indian Penal Code includes provisions for severe penalties for those found guilty of such crimes and acknowledges acts that could be considered genocide as punishable offenses.
Under international law, genocide is a crime that is prohibited and criminalized, regardless of whether it occurs during times of peace or armed conflict. The Genocide Convention, which Israel ratified in 1950, and the Rome Statute, outline the specific acts that constitute genocide. These include killing members of a group, causing harm to them, intentionally destroying their living conditions, preventing births, and forcibly transferring children. However, for these acts to qualify as genocide, they must be committed with the intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group in whole or in part. This specific intent is what sets genocide apart from other international crimes.
Whether Palestinians are citizens of Israel, living under Israeli military rule in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, or Palestinian refugees, they all share a strong collective identity. They have a common language, customs, and cultural practices, despite their different religions. Therefore, they fall under the protection of the Genocide Convention as a distinct national, ethnic, and racial group.
Since October 2023, Israel has carried out a massive and prolonged military offensive in the occupied Gaza strip. It has relentlessly attacked with both aerial and ground assaults, causing unimaginable destruction to entire neighborhoods and cities. This includes vital infrastructure, agricultural land, and significant cultural and religious sites that hold deep meaning for Palestinians. The offensive has resulted in the death and serious injury of thousands of Palestinians, including many children, in direct and indiscriminate attacks. It has also forcibly displaced over 90% of the 2.2 million inhabitants of Gaza, often multiple times, and forced them to live in dire and inhumane conditions. Israel has also deliberately hindered or denied access to life-saving goods and humanitarian aid, restricted power supplies, and destroyed essential services like water, sanitation, and healthcare. In addition, it has also subjected hundreds, possibly thousands, of Palestinians to incommunicado detention, torture, and other cruel and degrading treatment, resulting in many deaths.
Is what Israel is doing to the Palestinians considered genocide? Yes, according to various groups, including Amnesty International. The intent to destroy a group "in part" is enough to establish the specific intent required for the crime of genocide. International jurisprudence defines part of a group as a substantial number, rather than a specific numeric threshold. In this case, Amnesty International believes that Palestinians in Gaza make up a substantial part of the overall Palestinian group. In 2023, they accounted for about 40% of the 5.5 million Palestinians living in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
It is crucial to note that a perpetrator does not have to succeed in destroying a group, either in whole or in part, for genocide to be established. International law recognizes that the term "in whole or in part" refers to the intent to destroy, rather than the actual destruction. Furthermore, finding or inferring specific intent does not require identifying a single or sole intent. A state's actions can serve the dual purpose of achieving a military result and destroying a group. In other words, genocide can be a means to an end or a way to achieve a specific military objective.
In light of these facts, it is clear that the ongoing situation in Gaza amounts to genocide. India recognizes this as an international crime and has signed the convention to prevent and punish genocide. As a nation, we must speak out and take action against this heinous crime that is happening before our eyes. It is our moral responsibility to do so.
By Aakar Patel
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