April is designated as Genocide Awareness and Prevention Month for all the genocides committed, in history and those being perpetrated today.
Article II of the UN Genocide Convention defines the crime of genocide with two main elements: a mental element: the “intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such”; and a physical element, which includes the following five acts
- Killing members of the group
- Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group
- Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part
- Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group
- Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group
Myanmar has a long history of human rights violations committed by the Tatmadaw, rights of its own citizens including the Rohingyas and ethnic minorities with impunity. There has been little progress made in demanding justice and accountability for the 2017 Rohingyas genocide.
Pray that God will guide the state leaders today to “Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression,…” (Isaiah 1:17) according to HIS WILL.
