How Do Genocides Begin?

Genocides do not begin with the sudden slaughter of a group of people. Violence builds up gradually. Rather, every genocide begins with words of hate that seek to dehumanize the victimized group and set them apart from society. It is important to inform others of the warning signs of genocide in order to stop them from progressing.

​

The Ten Stages of Genocide

 

Through raising awareness, people learn to recognize the early stages of genocide and can report these violations of human rights to an authority for policy action before a mass atrocity occurs.

​

According to the organization Genocide Watch, there are ten stages of genocide (note that these stages are not linear, as some may happen simultaneously):

​

1.  Classification 

This stage essentially makes the distinction between "us" and "them," and sets the victimized group apart from society. For example, in Nazi Germany, Jewish and Roma people were stripped of their citizenship. At this early stage, it is important to create systems that promote tolerance and teach acceptance of other people, and to unite them through common ground.

​

2.  Symbolization 

Here, the victimized group is further set apart from society with given names or symbols. In Nazi Germany, the Jewish people had to sew yellow stars to their clothing and labeled as "Jews." To prevent further escalation, these symbols and distinctions can be outlawed as hate symbols and hate speech.

​

3.  Discrimination 

The government uses its political power to deny the victimized group their rights, including their civil rights, right to vote, and citizenship. To combat this, legal action should be taken to forbid ethnic, racial, or religious discrimination.

​

4.  Dehumanization 

Hate propaganda is used to vilify a group of people. During the Holocaust, Jewish people were stripped of their identity and given a number in place of a name. Hate crimes should be culturally unacceptable and those who commit them should be properly punished. Hate propaganda should be shut down. 

​

5.  Organization 

Military organizations or terrorist groups are formed and trained with the purpose of killing a group of people. This separate organization allows the government to deny their involvement with the genocide. For instance, the militia Janjaweed executed the genocide in Darfur. Membership in terrorist or militia groups should be legally forbidden and their leaders should be punished. The U.N. should take action to ban guns and other weapons from traveling in and out of the country.

​

6.  Polarization 

The groups are driven apart. Often, even the non-oppressed groups must choose a side or be killed. There may be laws that prohibit intermarriage or intermingling. At this point, people must prepare to defend themselves and members of extremist militias or coups d’états must be arrested and denied the ability to travel.

​

7.  Preparation 

The extremist leaders plan the murder of the victimized group of people, often using euphemisms like "ethnic cleansing" and "purification." These leaders can be charged with incitement and conspiracy to commit genocide, according to Article 3 in the Genocide Convention.

​

8.  Persecution 

The victims are treated badly and segregated based on their religion, culture, race, or ethnicity. At this point, they have been discriminated against and dehumanized. They are confined to certain areas and separated from their families as the killings and deportations to concentration camps begin. The UN should declare a state of Genocide Emergency, preparing humanitarian assistance and helping the victimized people defend theirselves.

​

9.  Extermination 

Extermination is the structural killing of members of a group. Most genocides are genocides "in part," from killing only the educated members of a group (as was the case in Burundi) to mass rapes of women (occurring in Darfur and Myanmar). However, the ultimate goal of a total genocide is to kill all the members of a group. At this point, an armed intervention is necessary. The UN and regional alliances must intervene quickly to rescue the victims and arrest the perpetrators.

​

10.  Denial 

Denial, the final stage, always follows the genocide. The government destroys evidence of the mass atrocity and denies that the killings ever happened. The perpetrators threaten witnesses to prevent them from speaking out. Those involved in the crimes usually stay in power until driven out by force, and then often go into hiding to escape punishment. Denial must be met with trials in national courts or international tribunals. In the past, the Yugoslav, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone Tribunals have been used to punish many of the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

​