Treaties and Statutes

US

Support for making violations of the International Genocide Convention also violations of US federal law has been bipartisan. Senator William Proximire (D-WI) introduced and achieved bipartisan passage of the Genocide Convention Implementation Act of 1987, also known as the “Proxmire Act.” The bill passed the House and Senate on a voice vote. The Act largely mirrors the UN Genocide Treaty, with some differences, and criminalizes as federal offenses the perpetration of, incitement to, and complicity with acts of Genocide. These federal offenses will be investigated and, if found valid, referred for prosecution. If there is a nexus to the US, extradition from a foreign country is enabled. Learn more about the Proxmire Act here and here.

Updated 2025-12-27 09:15 EST

Great Britain

The UK in the recent past not been a friendly environment for either Jewish people or Israel. The government is considered anti-Israel due to political factors, and has concomitantly allowed genocidal actions to fester, including incitement to genocide, complicity with genocide, and violations of Article II sub C of the International Genocide Treaty, “deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.” However, before the tide turned against British Jews and Israel, genocide laws were enacted in Great Britain. Hence, the authorities are obligated to investigate and publicly promise to do so.

The Genocide Act 1969 was the first British legislation criminalizing acts of violating Article II of the international Genocide Treaty that were committed in the UK. This law was repealed and replaced with the International Criminal Court Act 2001 for England, Wales and Northern Ireland and the International Criminal Court (Scotland) Act 2001 for Scotland. These acts empower UK courts to prosecute British nationals or residents for genocide committed abroad after 2001. The British government has already officially recognized several genocides, including the USSR’s starvation of Ukrainians known as the Holodomor, the Nazi Holocaust of Jews, and China’s actions against Uyghur civilians, as well as the massacres against civilians in Darfur.

However, UK courts can also prosecute cases of genocide when committed within the UK or by UK nationals or residents abroad. Prosecutions for genocide require consent from the Attorney General. Convictions carry severe penalties, including life imprisonment. The UK defines genocide by applying the same tenets of the international Genocide Treaty, including Article II and Article III. While the UK retains prosecution rights, it generally considers it best to forward complaints to the prosecutors at the International Criminal Court, and indeed, the law is mainly focused on enforcing ICC warrants and verdicts. But Chapter 17 part 5, “Offences under Domestic Law,” especially sections 51 and 52, addresses acts committed on UK soil. 

Hence, complaints will be breaking new and uncertain legal ground for the UK to enforce genocide provisions committed in Great Britain itself. But the Metropolitan police’s understanding and treatment of laws regarding hate speech and incitement to terrorism is evolving rapidly and more protectively, as demonstrated by the December 2025 arrests of various persons changing “Globalize the Intifada.”

Updated 2025-12-28 08:55 EST