Genocide: A Reference Handbook

In 1948, the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG), legally defining the crime of genocide for the first time. Amazingly, the United States did not ratify this international agreement until nearly 40 years later, when President Reagan finally signed the genocide convention bill. Not until the 1990s did attempts to enforce international law against genocide begin.Genocide: A Reference Handbook examines the antecedents of the term "genocide" from the mid-19th century and explains the challenges of preventing or even stopping genocide, such as the nation state system. The author documents how crimes of genocide have continued unchecked, and asserts that a collective commitment to humanitarian intervention is the only way to address this ongoing problem.