What Is Genocide?

Genocide occurs when a government or other organized group takes actions, such as committing murder or preventing people from accessing food, that are intended to destroy a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group either partially or entirely.


Section 1091 of Title 18, United States Code, prohibits genocide whether committed in time of peace or time of war. Genocide is defined in § 1091 and includes violent attacks with the specific intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.


What is the definition of genocide in the United Nations?

The definition contained in Article II of the Convention describes genocide as a crime committed with the intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, in whole or in part. It does not include political groups or so called “cultural genocide”.