Reviving the Genocide Convention’s Preventive Purpose

The contemporary discourse on genocide is dominated by international criminal law, designed to punish individuals after the fact. This article proposes a legal framework derived from Public International Law and the Genocide Convention’s original purpose to prevent genocide. We clarify the conceptual and practical differences between individual criminal responsibility for the crime of genocide and State responsibility for breaches of the Genocide Convention, including distinct standards of proof and indicia of intent. We propose correctives to prevailing errors. We argue for a more appropriate and flexible standard of proof for State breaches of the Genocide Convention. We further outline a novel method for inferring genocidal intent from systematic genocidal acts targeting a protected group, as indicia of genocidal intent. Finally, we urge States to domesticate the duty to prevent in law and policy, offering broad recommendations for the establishment of atrocity prevention institutions to better implement the duty to prevent and responsibility to protect populations at risk of mass atrocities worldwide.