The lowest estimated total death by genocide in the year 1994 is 500,000. Genocide is defined as the deliberate killing of a large group of people. Genocide can happen for various reasons such as disagreement in religious beliefs or hostility towards a specific ethnic group. During a genocide human rights are taken away and ignored such as the right to life, the right to liberty, and the right to security of person. Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has been violated through the Bosnian Genocide, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Japanese Internment Camps.
During the Bosnian Genocide of 1995 human rights were stripped from the Yugoslav republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina such as the right to life, liberty and security of person. In the article “Bosnian Genocide” it stated that “Serbian forces killed approximately 20,00 people, raped or tortured 10,000 more, and drove at least 20,000 people from their homes. ” This violates the human right to life because innocent civilians are being taken without care or consent. Human life is being taken away and this directly violates Article 3 of the UDHR.
Also during this time “Muslims were forced to leave their homes, interned into concentration camps” (“Former Yugoslavs” and “The Jewish Cemetery”). These mass killings and captivation of Muslims breaks the right of liberty. By interning Muslims into concentration camps this takes away their freedoms and alienates them from society. Normally law enforcement groups are made to protect the people, but in this case “The People’s Army of Yugoslavia (PAY) was [originally] created to protect the citizens, but now [they] have turned against the citizens” (“Bosnian Genocide”).
This gives the people of Yugoslavia a feeling of distress. This violates the security of person because it made the citizens feel unsafe in their own country rather than feeling safe and secure. Genocide can break out anywhere. Just like in Bosnia, the same case happened in Rwanda in 1994. A genocide in Rwanda broke out because of disagreement in race and religion. During this genocide the wellbeing of the people and the rights to liberty, life, and security of person was ignored.
In the article “Genocide in Rwanda” it is stated that “race-branding’ whereby it is possible to set a group apart as an enemy” was a large part of this genocide. Their personal liberties are violated because they are viewed as the enemy. Race branding is also a violation of liberty because it takes away freedoms every person is entitled to. In the article “Rwandan Genocide” it describes how the right to life is taken away by stating that “government forces massacred at least 500,000 people in one of the worst human rights violations of the 1990’s.
A massacre of this tremendous size is a huge violation of life. Taking away innocent lives in order to make a point about religion is a major violation of the human right to life. “[The leaders of Rwanda] were able to create an atmosphere of fear and hatred” (“Rwandan Genocide”). Creating an unsafe atmosphere is a violation of security of person. People have the right to feel safe and secure in their home and neighborhoods. But rather than feeling safe they are in distress and are fearful for their lives. This genocide in Rwanda majorly affected 1,000’s of people’s lives.
People had their rights taken from them in many different ways. During the Japanese Internment people’s rights were also taken and ignored. During World War 2, Japanese Americans were taken from their homes. This action violates the human rights to security of person, liberty, and life. The camps violate the right to security of person because “The Japanese Americans were legally living in America, and had nothing to do with the bombing of pearl harbor” (“Japanese Internment: Was the Internment of Japanese Americans and Japanese Canadians During the War Justified? ).
The people that were taken from their homes had their rights violated because their personal items which are meant to be secure have been confiscated and exploited. The Japanese Americans were no longer felt secure because their personal items and papers have been taken. Canada’s Minister of Justice “… focused on removing all persons of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast” (“Japanese Internment: Was the Internment of Japanese Americans and Japanese Canadians During the War Justified? “).
This action of removing the Japanese Americans from their homes violates the right to liberty because they are not being treated as humans. They are being transported and treated like animals, and their liberties and freedoms are taken from them. And the reason their freedoms are taken is not a justifiable reason, it’s because of their ethnicity not a violation of the law. And finally the human right to life was violated through unfair treatment. In the article “Japanese American Internment” it said that “The camps had terribly confined living conditions.
The detainees worked in jobs inside the camps but were not paid fair wages. ” The Japanese Americans were forced work in unsafe conditions and with unfair wages. This violates life because they are being treated unfairly and are not granted the rights and freedoms that are to be granted to every citizen no matter race or ethnicity. The Japanese Americans were treated unfairly and were not given the rights they deserved. Genocide is a terrible thing that endangers the freedoms and liberties that every person is entitled to. Genocide can happen anywhere and for various reasons.
Genocide has happened in Rwanda, Bosnia, and even in America. These three events, though all terrible, all occurred for different reasons and helped change the world. The Bosnian Genocide, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Japanese Internment Camps were all violations of Article 3 of the Universal Document of Human Rights. These events have shaped the world to this day. People are still learning from their mistakes and trying to correct and rebuild things that happened in the past. These events are important to know about because they can teach the public the harsh consequences of a terrible event such as genocide.
