Gerry’s International Relations

EU makes denial of genocide illegal

According to CNN, a recent law passed in the European Union makes it illegal to deny a genocide, such as the Holocaust.  The process has taken six years, however, because of the differing opinions of the 27 member states.  One of the main disputes was about the definition of genocide.   The Holocaust and the killings in Rwanda were quickly accepted, but many Baltic states wants the actions of Stalin to be also classified as genocide.  Russia, although it does not deny the tens of millions of deaths at the hands of Stalin, they also see him as bringing Russia into the industrialized 20th century and helping to cause the downfall of Nazi Germany.  This debate severely lengthened the time necessary to create these laws.

Another issue that had to be addressed was many of the member states, such as Great Britain, claimed this law counteracted their own states’ free speech laws.  Although they do not condone the genocide, they also do not want to limit the rights of their citizens to voice their opinions.  Because of these two dispute, the European Union allowed member states to opt out of the regulations.  If they do decide to participate, the individual states determine the punishment.  This is much less severe than the three years imprisonment which was int he original proposal.  Many states also have their own preexisting laws of denying genocide, such as Germany and Spain.  This law was able to find a compromise between the various faction that has so far been generally supported.