ABSTRACT
Genocide has been described as the ‘ultimate crime’.1 Although the Armenian massacre of 1915 did not result in any serious criminal proceedings,2
revulsion caused by the Jewish Holocaust eventually led to the adoption in 1948 of the Genocide Convention.3 Although the acts covered by the Genocide Convention could be encompassed under the definition of crimes against humanity, there was a compelling reason, not necessarily related to any imperative legal justification, for the two offences to be differentiated. The drafters of the crime of genocide wanted to emphasise the particular gravity of targeting members of a specific group with a view to their intentional physical or biological extermination. Emphasis is therefore on the destruction of the group, whereas the victimisation of group members in their individual capacities takes second place.
