Who is responsible for genocide?

A 60-year-old UN convention has failed to prevent a single instance of genocide – so how can we eradicate this crime?

Today marks 60 years since the UN convention on the prevention and punishment of genocide was passed for ratification. To date there have been 41 signatories and 140 state parties to the convention.

The convention has not prevented a single instance of genocide.

There are a range of views on why this is so and on the nature of the weakness inherent in the convention's provisions.

The convention has come to operate through injunctions issued against individuals who have committed crimes. Each part of this formulation is useless in the case of genocide

Though individual responsibility is vital in understanding genocide, this is not a crime that an individual can commit

The issue is brought into sharp focus by the indictment against the Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir

less likely that al-Bashir will stop using mass murder

instrument of politics?