Ethnic cleansing refers to a policy of forcibly removing members of a group from an area in order to create a largely homogenous population in the region. The practice is often combined with destruction of the group’s cultural and historical monuments. It is considered a crime under international law and is included in the definition of genocide in Article II of the Genocide Convention, which has been ratified by 153 States. Many States have also criminalized the crime of ethnic cleansing in their domestic laws.
Genocide, which includes the intent to destroy a national, ethnical or racial group and/or the intention to alter the demographic composition of a territory by physically destroying its groups, is an extremely serious offence under international law and is prohibited by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which is binding on all States that have signed it. The special nature of the genocidal intent, called dolus specialis by tribunals, is one of the key elements that distinguishes it from other crimes such as war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In many cases where ethnic cleansing is carried out, women and children are subject to especially brutal treatment. This is because perpetrators consider them to be “carriers” (biologically and culturally) of the next generation of the targeted ethnic group. During the genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina, for example, women were subjected to widespread sexual assault and enslavement, while young boys were systematically taken away from families and forced into military service.