"Although cultural genocide has never been defined by international law (contrary to the wishes of Raphael Lemkin - the man who coined the term genocide) it can be as equally devastating in its impact as genocide itself. Essentially:
"Cultural genocide extends beyond attacks upon the physical and/or biological elements of a group and seeks to eliminate its wider institutions. This is done in a variety of ways, and often includes the abolition of a group's language, restrictions upon its traditional practices and ways, the destruction of religious institutions and objects, the persecution of clergy members, and attacks on academics and intellectuals. Elements of cultural genocide are manifested when artistic, literary, and cultural activities are restricted or outlawed and when national treasures, libraries, archives, museums, artifacts, and art galleries are destroyed or confiscated."
Isn't this called ethnocide? All traces of a population's culture are eradicated and it's members are left to become absorbed into other societies where they are usually treated as peons or untouchables.
ReplyDelete<span>You're right..Wikipedia confirms that's it's rather ethnocide:
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_genocide
As early as 1933, Raphael Lemkin proposed a cultural component to genocide, which he called "vandalism".<span>[</span>1<span>]</span>
However, the drafters of the 1948 Genocide Convention dropped that concept from their consideration.<span>[</span>2<span>]</span> The legal definition of genocide is left unspecific about the exact nature in which genocide is done only that it is destruction with intent to destroy a racial, religious, ethnic or national group as such.<span>[</span>3<span>]</span>
Article 7 of a 1994 draft of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples uses the phrase "cultural genocide" but does not define what it means.<span>[</span>4<span>]</span> The complete article reads as follows:
Indigenous peoples have the collective and individual right not to be subjected to ethnocide and cultural genocide, including prevention of and redress for: (a) Any action which has the aim or effect of depriving them of their integrity as distinct peoples, or of their cultural values or ethnic identities;(b) Any action which has the aim or effect of dispossessing them of their lands, territories or resources;(c) Any form of population transfer which has the aim or effect of violating or undermining any of their rights;(d) Any form of assimilation or integration by other cultures or ways of life imposed on them by legislative, administrative or other measures;(e) Any form of propaganda directed against them.</span>