In an attempt to prevent such acts of mass violence, the Association of Genocide Scholars held its first conference Wednesday through Friday, June 14-16, at the College. More than 40 political scientists, sociologists, historians and philosophers from Australia, Canada, England, the United States, and Holland examined past and recent cases of genocide. They also examined areas of the world that have the most potential for mass violence. Any group that claims the right to decide who lives and who dies is a threat to all of us.
Genocide diminishes the racial and cultural diversity of humankind.
Developing and promoting means for preventing genocide are Smith's and his colleagues' primary goals for the Association of Genocide Scholars. Governments often ignore ethnic tensions in other countries until after mass violence has taken place, Smith said. As a result, the cost of humanitarian aid to victims of genocide often far exceeds that of preventive measures such as mediation between ethnic groups. Her presentation was followed by a discussion of the implications of the genocide that recently took place in Rwanda and claimed more than 500,000 lives. Rwanda and it neighbor, Burundi, are also examples of recurrent genocides in which an enormous number of lives have been taken with only primitive technology.