Crime and Justice Atlas

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Theme
Offense

Cultural Genocide

Offenses Against Public Safety and State Security

Cultural genocide, sometimes called culturicide, is a concept first described by the Polish lawyer Raphael Lemkin in 1944, in the same work that coined the term genocide, referring to the deliberate destruction of a group's cultural heritage, including its artifacts, traditions and texts, along with forced assimilation or suppression of language. The 1948 Genocide Convention did not include it in its official definition and its precise scope remains contested, but it has been invoked to describe efforts motivated by religious persecution, ethnic cleansing, or an ideology of erasing a people's historical memory. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Elements of Offense
Eradication and destruction of cultural heritage, such as cultural artifacts, events, and books 1
Notable Example
Canadian Indian residential school system, which the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada concluded can best be described as cultural genocide 1
Jurisdiction Variation
International law: the United Nations does not include cultural genocide in the definition of genocide used in the 1948 Genocide Convention 1
Classification
Offense Grade
Serious or Indictable Offense 1
Sources
1. Cultural genocide (Wikipedia)
  • Definition paragraph
    Cultural genocide involves the eradication and destruction of cultural heritage, such as cultural artifacts, events, and books
  • Relation to genocide
    The United Nations does not include cultural genocide in the definition of genocide used in the 1948 Genocide Convention
  • Passage on the Canadian Indian residential school system
    The Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada concluded that the Canadian Indian residential school system
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