Understanding Human Rights
and Genocide
Studying human rights helps us understand what every person deserves—and what happens when those rights are denied. Genocide is one of the most serious human rights violations, and it doesn't happen overnight. Learning about human rights and their abuse helps us recognize patterns of injustice, understand the consequences of silence, and consider how we can work toward a more just and humane world.
Media
The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention)
Raphael Lemkin, 1948 Speech on Genocide
Click here to read the speech Raphael Lemkin gave in 1948 in a radio broadcast. The United Nations also has the program recorded on their site. Click here to access to audio version..
Raphael Lemkin on CBS
Click here​ to watch a video constructed by Eugene Taylor and Abraham Krikorian which contains original footage of Raphael Lemkin speaking about the term genocide, which he created.
The Responsibility to Protect, 2001
Click here to read a synopsis of The Responsibility to Protect and click here for the full document.
Bedross Der Matossian: Denial of Genocides in the Twenty-First Century
Click here to a lesson about providing agency to youth when learning difficult histories.