Topic:
Country: China
Delegate Name: Izzy Sheppard
Delegate: Izzy Sheppard
School: Williamston High School
Committee: Legal Committee
Topic: Definition of Genocide
Country: People’s Republic of China
Genocide is a terrible and heinous act that has been committed multiple times throughout history. The crime has existed in many capacities spanning many millennia. The most infamous incident to date was Adolf Hitler’s act of mass Genocide against the Jews, the Roma, Homosexuals, and mentally or physically handicapped people called the Holocaust. In total, at the end of the war, when the allied powers won the European Theatre, 6 million Jews, and 5 million non-Jews. Hitler was allowed by his peers and was able to “justify” this crime to his people by way of claiming to be creating the perfect world through the extermination of “undesirable races”, in essence, eugenics. Addressing this terrible act, and preventing future genocide was one of the founding goals of the United Nations, which is still in need of more insight as the world continues to change and grow.
The People’s Republic of China has experienced perhaps some of the worst accounts of genocide in recent history. During World War II, the Japanese committed horrendous atrocities against the Chinese in cities such as Nanjing(formerly Nanking) and Guilin(formerly Kweilin). During this awful six-week invasion of China, the Japanese army burned through the city leaving buildings destroyed, family homes demolished, and bodies in the streets. The Japanese erased bloodlines, killing men, women, and children alike. In the aftermath, the total death toll, which is still in speculation, was anywhere from 100,000-300,000, and it would be decades before the city came close to its former glory.
In the future, China would be interested in preserving the current state of prosecution of Genocide, and the full legal definition. The UN currently has genocide defined in the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, Article II. China sees this definition as fit, however, would like to look into adding stress on how a culture could have genocide committed against it, and how that can permanently damage the mental state of a people. The damage of genocide does not only affect the simple population but traditions and the way of life of people. As China experienced a horrible atrocity that not only killed thousands but also destroyed a city and its own culture and individuality, we would look very favorably into expanding genocide to include the death of tradition and culture and punishment for that crime. China however would like to look into finding, and defining common traits throughout history that have led to mass genocide. Through this definition, the UN would be able to identify situations that could lead to genocide, address them properly, and prosecute those who have influenced or contributed to the conditions in which genocide occurs. China would also be interested in providing more assistance to the victims of genocide as defined by the UN, by working with some Non-Governmental Organizations to provide relief and assistance to those groups who need it.
Works Cited:
The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. “Nanjing Massacre.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 7 Nov. 2023, www.britannica.com/event/Nanjing-Massacre.
General Assembly of the United Nations. “Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.” Un.Org, 1948, www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/documents/atrocity-crimes/Doc.1_Convention%20on%20the%20Prevention%20and%20Punishment%20of%20the%20Crime%20of%20Genocide.pdf.
History.com Editors. “Rape of Nanjing: Massacre, Facts & Aftermath.” History.Com, A&E Television Networks, 2009, www.history.com/topics/asian-history/nanjing-massacre.
