The Genocide Olympics

Raphael Lemkin died with his boots on, August 28th, 1959.

A NY Times headline summed him up "Raphael Lemkin, Genocide Foe, Dies: International Law Professor Instrumental in Pushing Genocide Convention Through U.N." His obituary read "in lieu of flowers please contribute to United Nations fund of your choice." Even from his coffin the man who coined the term "genocide" refused to rest. His heart stopped while waiting in the office of Milton H. Blow for a chance to make one further bid of advocacy in his relentless 11 year campaign to persuade the US Congress to ratify the Genocide Convention.

If Lemkin were alive today, he would probably have some sharp words for many of today's advocacy groups. When the UN adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, he came out against it. He felt that it put the cart before the horse. Most of his family died in the Holocaust and he felt that international law as a practical matter should focus on the worst crimes first. Focus on Darfur not saving the seals, he might say.

If one man heeds Lemkin's call, it is Professor Eric Reeves at Smith College. He has spent years documenting the tragedies that have unfolded in the Sudan and his website has become the go-to place for "analysis, research and advocacy".

In December, 2006 he unleashed his "shame China" program which aims to brand the 2008 olympics in Beijing as the "Genocide Olympics" unless China ceases to play the role of genocide enabler-in-chief. His point is that Beijing is not going to change its relationship with Khartoum unless it feels it has something to lose - something it cares deeply about. To make the campaign international in scope he is looking for translators who can write well in Chinese, Arabic, French, Spanish, etc.

Not unlike the 1919 Boston molasses flood, international activism has slowly gained momentum and is beginning to resemble the measures taken against South African Apartheid in the 1980s. Celebrities like Don Cheadle, Angelina Jolie and George Clooney have visited the region. The US Senate has petitioned China's President Hu. Sam Brownback, John Kerry, Hilary Clinton, George Bush, Colin Powell, Dick Durbin... the list of advocates is long and bipartisan.

Grass roots divestment is playing a large role too. Canadian, Swedish and Austrian oil companies pulled their operations out a few years ago. But oil companies from China, Malaysia and India were ready to take their place. The biggest targets of divestment have been the Chinese companies PetroChina and CNPC. The Swiss power generation company ABB was recently removed from the divestment list after it announced a pullout. Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway is, as PetroChina's largest shareholder, an ancillary target.

Seven state legislatures (NJ, IL, OR, ME, CT, CA, VT), five cities (San Francisco, Providence, New Haven, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh) and over thirty universities have divested or approved divestment plans. The Sudan Divestment Taskforce maintains an interactive divestment map on their website from which you can see your state's level of involvement. My state (Georgia) is colored yellow, which means "no state action". We have one dot on the map corresponding to Emory University. Embarassingly enough, Alabama has two.

I wonder what's going on in other countries. Are Canada and the EU pro-active?

Many people, myself included, don't like being buttonholed by hysterical activists. But what's the big deal, should the subject of international relations come up, if you say "hey, did you hear about that Genocide Olympics thing? - I wonder if it will work". Indeed, its just crazy enough that it might.