The systematic and forcible removal of an ethnic, religious or national group from a particular territory, carried out through means that can include mass expulsion, violence, intimidation and the destruction of property, with the intent of making the area ethnically homogeneous. It is not itself a standalone crime under a single treaty definition, but the underlying acts that constitute it, such as murder, forcible transfer, torture and persecution, are prosecutable under international law as war crimes, crimes against humanity, or, where intent to destroy a group is proven, genocide. The term entered widespread use during the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s and has since been applied to comparable campaigns elsewhere.
Facts
Classification CodeNo single international treaty defines a standalone crime of ethnic cleansing. It is instead prosecuted under the existing statutes of the International Criminal Court and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, both of which treat the forcible deportation of a population as a crime against humanity. 1 Elements of OffenseEthnic cleansing renders an area ethnically homogeneous by using force or intimidation to remove persons of another ethnic or religious group, carried out through means such as murder, torture, arbitrary arrest and detention, extrajudicial executions, rape and sexual assault, confinement of civilians in ghetto areas, forcible removal and deportation, deliberate attacks on civilians, and destruction of property. 1 Notable ExampleEthnic cleansing was documented as a recurring tactic in the wars accompanying the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, including the conflicts in Croatia, Kosovo, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. 1 Jurisdiction VariationBecause no treaty names ethnic cleansing as its own offense, the legal framework applied to the same underlying conduct varies by tribunal and circumstance: it can be prosecuted as a crime against humanity, assimilated to specific war crimes, or, where genocidal intent is shown, brought within the meaning of the Genocide Convention. 1 Classification
Offense GradeSerious or Indictable Offense 1 Sources
1. Ethnic Cleansing (Wikipedia)
WikipediaEthnic cleansing, As a crime under international law section, opening paragraph
There is no international treaty that specifies a specific crime of ethnic cleansing; however, ethnic cleansing in the broad sense-the forcible deportation of a population-is defined as a crime against humanity under the statutes of both the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
Ethnic cleansing, Definitions section, methods sentence
carried out by means of murder, torture, arbitrary arrest and detention, extrajudicial executions, rape and sexual assaults, confinement of the civilian population in ghetto areas, forcible removal, displacement and deportation of the civilian population, deliberate military attacks or threats of attacks on civilians and civilian areas, and wanton destruction of property.
Ethnic cleansing, As a military, political, and economic tactic section
Ethnic cleansing was a common phenomenon in the wars in Croatia, Kosovo, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Ethnic cleansing, As a crime under international law section, genocide convention sentence
Those practices constitute crimes against humanity and can be assimilated to specific war crimes. Furthermore, such acts could also fall within the meaning of the Genocide Convention.
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