The Contracting
Parties,
Having considered the
declaration made by the General Assembly of the United
Nations in its resolution 96 (I) dated 11 December 1946
that genocide is a crime under international law,
contrary to the spirit and aims of the United Nations
and condemned by the civilized world,
Recognizing that at all
periods of history genocide has inflicted great losses
on humanity, and
Being convinced that,
in order to liberate mankind from such an odious
scourge, international co-operation is required,
Hereby agree as
hereinafter provided:
Article I: The
Contracting Parties confirm that genocide, whether
committed in time of peace or in time of war, is a crime
under international law which they undertake to prevent
and to punish.
Article II: In
the present Convention, genocide means any of the
following acts committed with intent to destroy, in
whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or
religious group, as such:
(a) Killing members
of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members
of the group;
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions
of life calculated to bring about its physical
destruction in whole or in part;
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births
within the group;
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to
another group.
Article III: The
following acts shall be punishable:
(a) Genocide;
(b) Conspiracy to commit genocide;
(c) Direct and public incitement to commit genocide;
(d) Attempt to commit genocide;
(e) Complicity in genocide.
Article IV: Persons
committing genocide or any of the other acts enumerated
in article III shall be punished, whether they are
constitutionally responsible rulers, public officials or
private individuals.
Article V: The
Contracting Parties undertake to enact, in accordance
with their respective Constitutions, the necessary
legislation to give effect to the provisions of the
present Convention, and, in particular, to provide
effective penalties for persons guilty of genocide or
any of the other acts enumerated in article III.
Article VI:
Persons charged with genocide or any of the other acts
enumerated in article III shall be tried by a competent
tribunal of the State in the territory of which the act
was committed, or by such international penal tribunal
as may have jurisdiction with respect to those
Contracting Parties which shall have accepted its
jurisdiction.
Article VII:
Genocide and the other acts enumerated in article III
shall not be considered as political crimes for the
purpose of extradition.
The Contracting Parties
pledge themselves in such cases to grant extradition in
accordance with their laws and treaties in force.
Article VIII:
Any Contracting Party may call upon the competent organs
of the United Nations to take such action under the
Charter of the United Nations as they consider
appropriate for the prevention and suppression of acts
of genocide or any of the other acts enumerated in
article III.
Article IX:
Disputes between the Contracting Parties relating to the
interpretation, application or fulfilment of the present
Convention, including those relating to the
responsibility of a State for genocide or for any of the
other acts enumerated in article III, shall be submitted
to the International Court of Justice at the request of
any of the parties to the dispute.
Article X: The
present Convention, of which the Chinese, English,
French, Russian and Spanish texts are equally authentic,
shall bear the date of 9 December 1948.
Article XI: The
present Convention shall be open until 31 December 1949
for signature on behalf of any Member of the United
Nations and of any nonmember State to which an
invitation to sign has been addressed by the General
Assembly.
The present Convention
shall be ratified, and the instruments of ratification
shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the
United Nations.
After 1 January 1950,
the present Convention may be acceded to on behalf of
any Member of the United Nations and of any non-member
State which has received an invitation as aforesaid.
Instruments of accession shall be deposited with the
Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Article XII: Any
Contracting Party may at any time, by notification
addressed to the Secretary-General of the United
Nations, extend the application of the present
Convention to all or any of the territories for the
conduct of whose foreign relations that Contracting
Party is responsible.
Article XIII: On
the day when the first twenty instruments of
ratification or accession have been deposited, the
Secretary-General shall draw up a proces-verbal and
transmit a copy thereof to each Member of the United
Nations and to each of the non-member States
contemplated in article XI.
The present Convention
shall come into force on the ninetieth day following the
date of deposit of the twentieth instrument of
ratification or accession.
Any ratification or
accession effected, subsequent to the latter date shall
become effective on the ninetieth day following the
deposit of the instrument of ratification or accession.
Article XIV: The
present Convention shall remain in effect for a period
of ten years as from the date of its coming into force.
It shall thereafter
remain in force for successive periods of five years for
such Contracting Parties as have not denounced it at
least six months before the expiration of the current
period.
Denunciation shall be
effected by a written notification addressed to the
Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Article XV: If,
as a result of denunciations, the number of Parties to
the present Convention should become less than sixteen,
the Convention shall cease to be in force as from the
date on which the last of these denunciations shall
become effective.
Article XVI: A
request for the revision of the present Convention may
be made at any time by any Contracting Party by means of
a notification in writing addressed to the
Secretary-General.
The General Assembly
shall decide upon the steps, if any, to be taken in
respect of such request.
Article XVII:
The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall notify
all Members of the United Nations and the non-member
States contemplated in article XI of the following:
(a) Signatures,
ratifications and accessions received in accordance
with article XI;
(b) Notifications received in accordance with
article XII;
(c) The date upon which the present Convention comes
into force in accordance with article XIII;
(d) Denunciations received in accordance with
article XIV;
(e) The abrogation of the Convention in accordance
with article XV;
(f) Notifications received in accordance with
article XVI.
Article XVIII: The
original of the present Convention shall be deposited in
the archives of the United Nations.
A certified copy of the
Convention shall be transmitted to each Member of the
United Nations and to each of the non-member States
contemplated in article XI.
Article XIX: The
present Convention shall be registered by the
Secretary-General of the United Nations on the date of
its coming into force.
Reference: U.N.T.S.
(United Nations Treaty Series), No. 1021, vol. 78 (1951).
