Genocide and Restitution: Ensuring Each Group's Contribution to Humanity

Abstract

The protection of minorities in modern international law is intimately connected with and fueled the recognition of the crimes of persecution and genocide. Minority protection represented the proactive component of the international efforts to ensure the contribution of certain groups to the cultural heritage of humankind. Prohibition and prosecution of persecution and genocide represented the reactive element of these same efforts. The restitution of cultural property to persecuted groups by the international community was recognition that their ownership and control of these physical manifestations was necessary for the realisation of this purpose.

In this article, I consider the emergence, contraction and revival of the interconnection between minority protection, the prevention and punishment of genocide, and the protection and restitution of cultural heritage over the last century-long development of international law. It is argued that the central aim driving and interweaving these initiatives is the effort to ensure the continuing contribution of each group to the cultural heritage of all humanity. First, there is an examination of early intersections between these strands during the pre-conventional phase from the Treaty of Sèvres to the London Charter. Second, the 1948 Genocide Convention and 1954 Hague Convention (and Optional Protocol) are considered with reference to the compromises wrought by Cold War politicking. Finally, these limitations are reevaluated in the post-1989 context with particular reference to responses of the international community to the Yugoslav conflicts and their aftermath.

Keywords: Genocide, crimes against humanity, persecution, human rights, minorities, restitution, cultural heritage

JEL Classification: K33, K42