conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part, imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group, and forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.’ 61 If genocide takes place in a country it is the duty of the country to punish the perpetrators and prevent genocide from taking place. However, despite the adoption of the UN Convention of Genocide, many have criticised the convention claiming that the convention is very limited meaning that none of the mass killings committed since the convention was put in place can be classified as genocide. Common criticisms include; the convention excludes targeted political and social groups, the definition of genocide limits itself to direct acts against people and therefore excludes acts against the environment which sustains them or their cultural distinctiveness, it can be challenging to prove the intention of committing genocide, members of the UN are often hesitant to single out other members or intervene, and it is often difficult to stipulate how many deaths equate to a genocide. 62 What is cultural genocide? When Lemkin coined the term genocide, he described eight dimensions to the term; political, social, cultural, economic, biological, physical, religious and moral. Each dimension targeted a different aspect of a group’s existence. Out of all these dimensions, physical, biological and cultural genocide are the most recognised. Physical genocide refers to the physical annihilation of a group by killing and injuring its members. Biological genocide refers to measures that are put in place in order to limit the reproductive
61 BBC, " How Do You Define Genocide? ", BBC News, 2016 <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-11108059> [accessed 26 April 2016]. 62 BBC
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