According to the Global Terrorism Index, Nigeria’s Boko Haram is one of the worlds most deadly insurgencies. Even though there have been national as well as international efforts to try and halt...Show moreAccording to the Global Terrorism Index, Nigeria’s Boko Haram is one of the worlds most deadly insurgencies. Even though there have been national as well as international efforts to try and halt the sect, with the latest attack on June 16th 2018, they can still be seen as claiming many lives today. Looking at genocide according to the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime Genocide, it can be argued that Boko Haram is committing a genocide under international law. No definition of genocide is as internationally recognised and legally binding as the United Nations definition in the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime Genocide. Despite this, throughout history the United Nations and the international community have been reluctant to name various crimes a genocide, as this would result to the increased legal and moral pressure for the international community to respond. An example is during the Rwandan genocide in 1994. Since this genocide, the United Nations has continuously claimed that genocides can never ‘happen again’. However, looking at Nigeria and Boko Haram there has been no claim of a genocide according to the United Nations. If the United Nations would officially recognise Boko Haram as committing a genocide under international law, the international community would legally be pressured to respond to the violence.Show less
