Topic:
Country: Brazil
Delegate Name: Tanner Beavon
The word Genocide was first coined in the year 1944 by a Polish lawyer who combined the prefix genos, meaning race or tribe, and the suffix cide- or killing. In response to the targetted actions aimed at the destruction of Jewish peoples during the Holocaust, genocide was quickly stipulated as an international crime in 1946, then defined in the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which has since been ratified by 153 states as of April 2022. In addition, the agreed upon definition was a result of deliberation and compromise has become precedent for other international and hybrid jurisdictions. The convection posed two main elements for the narrow definition of the crime which includes both a mental and physical element; intent to deliberately kill or cause serious bodily harm to members of a national, ethnical, racial or religious group. This would include imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group.
Brazil emphasizes the importance of an all-inclusive definition of genocide that encapsulates the different forms of genocide that may not entirely meet the expectations outlined by the Genocide Convention. Brazil has no history of violating this international law, however with a rapidly declining indigenous population of the Amazonian region, these tribes face external threats such as exploitative mining, logging, and cattle ranching which challenges their cultural heritage and continued existence.
It is clear that in order to ensure justice and protection in regards to genocide on the international level, it is imperative to strengthen the procedures that the UN takes in order to properly address and prosecute such atrocities. Brazil will stay committed to the collaboration among the international community to arrive at a proper framework to ensure a more just and peaceful world.
