"A Problem From Hell:" America and the Age of Genocide Chapter Summary & Analysis - Chapter 5 Summary

Chapter 5, "A Most Lethal Pair of Foes" Summary

While the law had been passed in the General Assembly of the UN, the law still needed to be ratified domestically by twenty of the UN's member states in order for it to become international law. Lemkin and others believed that the United States would need to take a leading role if the law was to be enforced. He again went on the offensive, sending letters to member nations, varying his pitch with each state and letter. On October, 16, 1950, the twentieth country ratified the genocide convention and it became international law.

The United States, however, had not yet ratified the convention. Although the convention had received U.S. support at the UN, many were opposed to its domestic ratification. Some policymakers feared that the ambiguous language of the treaty could be used to target the United States in future military actions. They also argued that defining genocide as causing...
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