After the World War II, two nations became extremely notorious in both crimes of genocide and torture: Japan and Germany. Germany’s attempt to wipe out the Jews out of Germany was because of Hitler’s orders. Hitler believed that the Caucasians are the supreme races on Earth and should remain that way. He killed and captured the Jews and created a laboratory in Auschwitz; many German scientists carried out illegal experiments that lead to torture and death of many Jews. The same case also applies for Japan. The Rape of Nanjing in 1937 tells the story of the torture caused by the medical malpractice of the Japanese Imperial Army on the Chinese people. After the World War II, one of the notorious persons accountable for the Nanjing Massacre, Admiral Tojo Hideki and the infamous doctor and commander Shiro Ishii. The United Nations was established after the World War II in 1945, internationally known as the UN. According to the UN Convention Against Torture (CAT), torture is defined as any act by which severe pain or suffering or any physical or emotional abuse is intentionally inflicted to a person. Torture and Genocide although they are two different things, these two are always associated with one another. The intent of eliminating a race for the sake of personal gain is considered a heavy crime. The UN implements strict policies in the prosecution of the suspects who are accused ‘guilty’ of the act regardless of their political rank and their status in the society: “Article 4: Persons committing genocide or any of the other acts enumerated in Article 3 shall be punished, whether they are constitutionally responsible rulers, public officials or private individuals.”1
The good thing about the UN policy for genocide is that all suspects who have committed such grave acts against the human rights will undergo an intensive interrogation and trial by jury on the place where the crime was committed as stated in the Article 6 of the policy. However, the Article 5 of the UN policy against genocide allows the convicted to pay for their momentary release after captivity. This would mean that they will have an ample time to enjoy their liberties for a moment whilst the case is in progress.
“Article 5: 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 3.”2
___________________________________________
- International Criminal Court. Elements of Crimes (New York: International Criminal Court Publication, 2011), 8.
- United Nations General Assembly. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. (United Nations General Assembly, 2014), 1-2
Bibliography
International Criminal Court. 2011. Elements of Crimes. New York: International Criminal Court Publication.
United Nations General Assembly. 2014. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. United Nations General Assembly.
