ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a comprehensive analysis of the racial group in the law of genocide, as well as its application by courts. It argues for the adoption of a subjective approach in jurisprudence by translating the notion of othering into international criminal law and by explaining the dolus specialis of destroying a racial group by a genocidal process. The perception of otherness, or, as it commonly is known, ‘othering’, is about marginalisation and creating a hierarchy around notions of difference. At the heart of any genocide lies the element of identity, which is crucial to explain the crime. The classification with its associated discrimination, segregation, or even genocide, depends on the availability of signs by which the victims can be identified as belonging to a particular group. Processes of categorising, identifying and defining in- and out-groups translate into systems of discrimination. Akayesu was the first individual to stand trial for genocide before an international tribunal.
