Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide

The Genocide Convention defines genocide as acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group. It obligates parties to prevent and punish genocide, whether committed in peacetime or wartime. The U.S. signed the Convention in 1948 but did not ratify until 1988—a 40-year delay driven by concerns about sovereignty and the treaty's potential impact on domestic law.