Knowra Ethnic cleansing Ethnic cleansing Ethnic cleansing is the deliberate removal of an ethnic group from a territory through force, intimidation, or violence. It can involve deportation, persecution, destruction of homes, and mass killing.
Forced displacement : The involuntary movement of people from their homes or usual places of residence. Ethnic cleansing is a deliberate, group-targeted form of forced displacement.
Genocide : Acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. Ethnic cleansing seeks territorial removal; genocide requires intent to destroy the protected group.
Bosnian War : The 1992–1995 conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina following the breakup of Yugoslavia. The phrase became widely used in international reporting and debate during this conflict.
Expulsion of Germans after World War II : The postwar removal of millions of ethnic Germans from parts of Central and Eastern Europe. It is a major example of mass population expulsion in twentieth-century Europe.
International law : The body of rules and principles governing relations among states and other international actors. Its treaties and customary rules provide legal categories for prosecuting acts associated with ethnic cleansing.
Deportation : The expulsion of a person or group from a state or territory, often by government authority. Authorities may use deportation to remove a targeted population from a territory.
Crimes against humanity : Certain widespread or systematic attacks against civilian populations, including murder, deportation, and persecution. Ethnic-cleansing acts may constitute crimes against humanity when legal elements are met.
Breakup of Yugoslavia : The dissolution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia into independent states during the 1990s. Nationalist conflict during the dissolution created conditions for campaigns of territorial expulsion.
Nakba : The mass displacement of Palestinians during the 1948 war surrounding Israel's establishment. Palestinian displacement is central to contested historical and political uses of the term.
Genocide Convention : The 1948 treaty requiring states to prevent and punish genocide. The Convention defines genocide, not ethnic cleansing as a separate crime.
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