Ethnic persecution is a crime against humanity under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ICC Elements of Crimes specifies that an ethnic persecution prosecution must show:
Severe deprivation of fundamental rights;
- The victims were targeted by reason of the identity of the group;
- The targeting was based on political, racial, national, ethnic, cultural, religious, or gender identity;
- The deprivation was committed in connection with another crime against international law;
- The deprivation was committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population;
- The perpetrator knew or intended the deprivation to be a part of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population.
The genocide (or mass murder) in Rwanda is an example of ethnic persecution.
[Last updated in September of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team]