Statements

Statement on US Media Responses to the Deaths of US Citizens in Israel-Palestine

November 1, 2024

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention and Human Security has been surprised by the widespread, apparently systemic, dehumanization of Palestinians within the Western Press, particularly in the United States. Nowhere has this been more clear to us than in the reporting on the deaths of American citizens in the region. The deaths of citizens who are believed to be killed by Hamas are mourned as national tragedies; the deaths of citizens believed to be killed by Israel are mentioned, if at all, as accidents worthy only of private mourning. We protest this inhumane and nihilist discriminatory approach to human life, which bodes poorly for all human beings in the future.

Rudy Giuliani’s Anti-Palestinian Racism: Incitement to Genocide and child murder.

— Joint Statement from Doctors Against Genocide and the Lemkin Institute

October 30th, 2024

Doctors Against Genocide (DAG) and the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention condemn recent remarks by Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor and a loyal Trump confidante, who claimed over the weekend that “[the Palestinians are taught to kill us at two years old.” He made this claim during a speech supporting former president Donald Trump, who is running for a second presidential term.

We Must Continue with Outrage: Statement on Israel’s Assaults on Hospitals and Safe Zones

October 25th, 2024


In the past day Israel has attacked the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Mashrou Bait Lahia (North Gaza) with artillery and a ground invasion. This is one of the last three hospitals in northern Gaza. Israel destroyed the hospital’s intensive care unit as well as its water and oxygen supply. A number of children and babies were reportedly killed as a result of the lack of oxygen supply and Israeli soldiers are rounding up doctors and patients in the courtyard. Israel is currently in the process of destroying what is left of the last three hospitals in northern Gaza as it decimates the remaining population with military attacks, starvation, blocking access to clean water and medical supplies, and forced displacement. Israel instituted a communications blackout over the weekend of October 18, 2024 before ruthlessly slaughtering non-combatants – men, women, and children.

Statement on Threats to Democracy in Bangladesh

September 24, 2024

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention stands in solidarity with the people of Bangladesh. We wish to recognize the remarkable courage of young people, especially university students, who took to the streets over the past months to voice their frustrations. We also wish to express concern about the current political instability in Bangladesh in the wake of the terrible loss of life due to state and mob violence and the recent resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The Prime Minister’s resignation, which came on the heels of mounting pressure from protesters and the military, speaks to the deep roots of the current political conflict and also to the uncertainty of Bangladesh’s future. We commend the swift creation of an interim government under the Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. We further call on the military leadership and the interim government to remain true to Bangladesh’s humanist cultural traditions and history, to protect human rights, to investigate the recent state violence against protesters, and to uphold the constitution.

On the One Year Anniversary of the Artsakh Genocide

September 19, 2024


It has been one year since the Artsakh Genocide of 19 September 2023, when Azerbaijan invaded the 3,000 year old ethnic Armenian enclave and de facto autonomous state of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) after a brutal 10-month siege. Azerbaijan killed hundreds of Armenians and displaced almost 100 percent of the remaining population. The siege and invasion were characterized by a terrible silence among the world’s powers, including the United States, as well as by the staggering inaction of various political leaders and international institutions, which signaled the start of a new era of “acceptable genocide.”

The Genocidal Dimensions of Israel’s Use of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) against Palestinians

September 11, 2024


Summary

- Based on reports from the United Nations, B’Tselem, Euro-Med Monitor, and other sources, Israel has used sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in a systematic manner against Palestinians in detention, at checkpoints, and during encounters in Gaza since 7 October 2023. The use of sexualized violence against Palestinians appears to have increased dramatically since 7 October.

- Statements by Israeli leaders, social media posts by IDF soldiers, and testimony from Palestinians who have experienced or witnessed sexualized violence, including released detainees, not only establish the widespread and systematized nature of sexualized violence but also document the broader sexualization of the conflict itself by the Israeli state and armed forces. This sexualization alone is indicative of genocidal violence, as it indicates a desire to destroy Palestinians as such by desecrating symbols of generation and undermining the ability of Palestinians to reproduce biologically and culturally.

- The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention and Human Security has identified several specific patterns of sexualized violence that are indicative of a genocidal process. These include: The widespread use of sexualized violence against men and boys; life force atrocities (including ritualized humiliations); separation of families and other reproductive violence; and possible elitocide through the use of sexualized violence.

- The Lemkin Institute supports ongoing independent investigations of crimes committed by the Israel state and military and by Hamas, and underscores the importance of a trusted empirical narrative of crimes – especially of SGBV – to a lasting peace.

Statement on Hamas’s Execution of 6 Israeli Hostages

September 11, 2024

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention and Human Security forcefully condemns the execution of six Israeli hostages by Hamas militants hours before Israeli forces were to attempt a rescue operation over the weekend of 1 September 2024. The cruel murder of these young people is a terrible crime and only serves to further escalate an already catastrophic situation for Palestinians. Furthermore, Hamas’s subsequent taunting of Israeli families by posting videos of their loved ones taken before their deaths betrays a cruel genocidal logic in which relationships of love and responsibility are instrumentalized to cause harm and to destroy the soul of the group.

A 12-Point Genocide Prevention Agenda for U.S. Presidential Candidates

August 13, 2024

The United States exhibits many red flags for genocidal processes, including extreme political divisiveness, institutional ossification and breakdown, political corruption, dependence on special interests, a highly militarized security sector, and widespread pessimism as well as disengagement from a political system that is increasingly unresponsive to the needs of ordinary people.

This 12-Point Agenda is meant to help US political candidates think about ways to integrate genocide prevention into their platforms and policies.

Statement Condemning the Murder of Muhammed Bhar

July 18, 2024

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention is horrified and heartbroken by the cruel IDF murder of Muhammed Bhar, a 24-year-old Palestinian man who had Down's Syndrome and autism.

The IDF's treatment of Mr. Bhar is not the exception. It is but one of countless similar genocidal atrocities committed by Israel, which our founder, Dr. Elisa von Joeden-Forgey, calls life force atrocities. Life force atrocities aim to destroy the spirit of the group by instrumentalizing family and community bonds, targeting and desecrating community symbols, including the most vulnerable people within a community, and perpetrating sadistic rituals of cruelty that become permanent wounds within the target group's psyche – and also permanent wounds on the body of humanity. Life force atrocities are found in every genocide.

The pattern of life force atrocities in Israel's assault on Gaza is one of the most direct forms of evidence of genocidal intent.

Statement Condemning the Global Rise in Police Violence within Democratic States

July 8, 2024

The Lemkin Institute has become increasingly distressed and appalled by the escalation of the use of force by police and security forces against protestors in democratic states, particularly in the USA, Georgia, Armenia, India, and across Europe. The use of violent police tactics, the politicization of the law, and the targeting of political opponents are worrying signs of encroaching authoritarianism within putatively democratic and liberal regimes. Police violence against peaceful protest is a violation of civil and human rights. It can also set the stage for atrocity crimes by marginalizing specific communities, radicalizing tensions, and expanding the state’s willingness to use brute force as a means of social and political control. We reiterate that genocide prevention cannot exist without freedom of speech and assembly. The right to free speech, assembly, and protest is fundamental to inclusive and equitable societies. These rights empower individuals and communities to speak out against injustices and demand accountability from their governments. By ensuring people can voice their concerns and mobilize collectively, societies are better equipped to address and mitigate factors that could escalate into genocide.

Statement on the Genocidal State of Azerbaijan Hosting COP29

June 4, 2024

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention opposes the decision by the United Nations to name Azerbaijan as host of COP29, the annual UN climate change summit, given Azerbaijan’s genocidal strategies in Nagorno-Karabakh, the genocidal Armenophobic ideology of its leader, President Ilham Aliyev, and the extensive corruption and human rights abuses at home. By granting Azerbaijan the honor of hosting this important event, the UN is endorsing genocidal speech, genocidal policies, and dictatorship, which benefits neither the climate nor the people of the world. The choice of Azerbaijan as COP host legitimizes, rationalizes, and normalizes genocide in world politics. Furthermore, it threatens the credibility of the principles established by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. In the interests of genocide prevention, human rights, and the legitimacy of the United Nations as a body representing the people of the world, the United Nations must rescind Azerbaijan’s recognition as host of COP29 and either find another host country or hold this year’s meeting in Bonn, Germany, COP’s default meeting place.

Statement Calling Out US & Israeli Propaganda

May 28, 2024

The Lemkin Institute has had it with the cynical lies and propaganda from Israel and the USA. One can have different views about the definition of genocide, but one may not use definitional disputes to deny genocide. If a genocide may be occurring, every nation is compelled by customary law to try to stop it.