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The Genocide Convention Is Adopted

The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Genocide Convention on December 9, 1948.

Published · Updated · 1 min read

The Event

The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Genocide Convention on December 9, 1948. It defined genocide in international law and established obligations concerning prevention and punishment.

The Wider Story

The agreement reflected efforts to respond to mass atrocities, including the Holocaust. Ratification and implementation required action by individual states.

Putting the Event in Perspective

Adoption was not an automatic end to genocide or a verdict in a particular case.

Reading the Historical Record

Its legal definition must be distinguished from broader everyday uses of the term.

About the Historical Recreation

The accompanying visual is an illustrative reconstruction: a 1948 United Nations meeting hall with distant delegates and unreadable legal documents. It is not authentic archival footage, an eyewitness record or additional evidence for the event.

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