- 384 pages
- English
- PDF
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The Soviet Union and the Gutting of the UN Genocide Convention
About this book
After the staggering horrors of World War II and the Holocaust, the United Nations resolved to prevent and punish the crime of genocide throughout the world. The resulting UN Genocide Convention treaty, however, was drafted, contested, and weakened in the midst of Cold War tensions and ideological struggles between the Soviet Union and the West.
Based on extensive archival research, Anton Weiss-Wendt reveals in detail how the political aims of the superpowers rendered the convention a weak instrument for addressing abuses against human rights. The Kremlin viewed the genocide treaty as a political document and feared repercussions. What the Soviets wanted most was to keep the subjugation of Eastern Europe and the vast system of forced labor camps out of the genocide discourse. The American Bar Association and Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, in turn, worried that the Convention contained vague formulations that could be used against the United States, especially in relation to the plight of African Americans. Sidelined in the heated discussions, Weiss-Wendt shows, were humanitarian concerns for preventing future genocides.
Based on extensive archival research, Anton Weiss-Wendt reveals in detail how the political aims of the superpowers rendered the convention a weak instrument for addressing abuses against human rights. The Kremlin viewed the genocide treaty as a political document and feared repercussions. What the Soviets wanted most was to keep the subjugation of Eastern Europe and the vast system of forced labor camps out of the genocide discourse. The American Bar Association and Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, in turn, worried that the Convention contained vague formulations that could be used against the United States, especially in relation to the plight of African Americans. Sidelined in the heated discussions, Weiss-Wendt shows, were humanitarian concerns for preventing future genocides.
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Yes, you can access The Soviet Union and the Gutting of the UN Genocide Convention by Anton Weiss-Wendt in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Politics & International Relations & Russian History. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
Table of contents
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- List of Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1. The Class Struggle for the Substance and Meaning of International Law
- 2. Defensive Self-Righteousness in Soviet Diplomatic Practice
- 3. Net to Codification of International Law
- 4. The UN Secretariat Draft Genocide Convention
- 5. Key Soviet Documents on Genocide Analyzed
- 6. Negotiating the Provisions of the Draft Genocide Convention
- 7. A Pyrrhic Victory on the Genocide Convention
- 8. Drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- 9. The Forced Transfer of Children Clause, or the Balkan Gambit
- 10. The Morning After: US Ratification Put on Hold
- 11. Raphael Lemkin and the Émigré Anticommunist Front
- 12. Communism=Stalinism=Nazism=Genocide
- 13. Subversion Alleged: Draft Covenant on Human Rights and Draft Code of Offenses against the Peace and Security of Mankind
- 14. The UN Investigation of Forced Labor, 1948‒1954
- 15. The Making of Genocide in the Korean War
- 16. Racial Discrimination in the United States: We Charge Genocide
- 17. Race Relations in America and the Soviet Peace Offensive
- 18. Thou Shalt Not Indict: The Status Quo on Genocide by the Early 1950s
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index