From Discrimination to Death Genocide Process Through a Human Rights Lens

From Discrimination to Death studies the process of genocide through the human rights violations that occur during genocide. Using individual testimonies and in-depth field research from the Armenian Genocide, Holocaust and Cambodian Genocide, this book demonstrates that a pattern of specific escalating human rights abuses takes place in genocide. Offering an analysis of all these particular human rights as they are violated in genocide, the author intricately brings together genocide studies and human rights, demonstrating how the ‘crime of crimes’ and the human rights law regime correlate. The book applies the pattern of rights violations to the Rohingya Genocide, revealing that this pattern could have been used to prevent the violence against the Rohingya, before advocating for a greater role for human rights oversight bodies in genocide prevention. The pattern ascertained through the research in this book offers a resource for governments and human rights practitioners as a mid-stream indicator for genocide prevention. It can also be used by lawyers and judges in genocide trials to help determine whether genocide took place. Undergraduate and postgraduate students, particularly of genocide studies, will also greatly benefit from this book.

Introduction Part 1 1 Freedom from Discrimination Part 2 2 Freedom of Expression and Opinion 3 Education and Culture Rights 4 Employment, Political, and Fair Trial Rights 5 Freedom of Religion 6 Family and Privacy Rights 7 Child Rights Part 3 8 Freedom of Movement; Liberty and Security of Person; Slavery 9 Rights to Health and Adequate Standard of Living Part 4 10 Freedom from Torture 11 Right to Life Part 5 12 The Refugee Stage Part 6 13 The Rohingya Genocide 14 Conclusion

Melanie O’Brien is Associate Professor of International Law at the University of Western Australia and President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS).