On 9 December 1948, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted the Genocide Convention. Seventy-five years later, despite numerous efforts to address the root causes of this tremendous crime, we continue to witness expressions of exacerbated nationalism, hate speech, xenophobia, and racial and ethnic profiling worldwide. 

This is a day to renew the call on all 152 parties to the Convention, to fully commit to their obligations in preventing and punishing the crime of genocide. Mere rhetoric is not enough, we urgently need decisive action.

We owe this commitment to Raphael Lemkin, who tirelessly fought to prevent the atrocities of the Holocaust from ever recurring again. We also owe it to all the victims and survivors of this heinous crime who, over the years, the international community has repeatedly failed.

We call on the UN Security Council members to uphold their responsibility to act, and refrain from using the veto power in the face of mass atrocities. 

The European Union remains unwavering in its commitment to protecting people globally from atrocities. We will continue advancing our efforts to end impunity, ensuring justice and reparations for the victims. Genocide and other crimes under international law must not go unpunished. It is our collective moral obligation to humanity.

Victims deserve justice, always and everywhere.

Background

The EU promotes the Responsibility to Protect and prioritises the prevention of conflict and atrocities through tools such as conflict analysis, early warning and action, dialogue and mediation.

As a global actor, the EU partners with national and international actors, including civil society, to support peace and prosperity around the world. The EU Toolkit for Atrocity Prevention is an important element of this work, as are the Global human rights sanctions regime, our Action Plan for Human Rights and Democracy, our Framework on Transitional Justice and our Strategy on combating antisemitism.

In order to support the national authorities of the Member States in their investigation  and prosecution of the crime of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, as well as to close the impunity gap, the EU has set up a European Network of focal points for the investigation and prosecution of these crimes, the Genocide Network.