Policy of erasure: UN marks ‘Genocide Prevention Day’ by unmarking Gaza and Sudan

By Shabbir Rizvi 

December 9th marks the UN-designated “International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of This Crime.”

Ten years ago, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution, proposed by Armenia, establishing December 9 as this annual day of observance. 

Yet today, humanity continues to suffer from the crime of genocide, particularly the Palestinian people at the hands of the Israeli regime, bankrolled by the United States, as well as the Sudanese people at the hands of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a militia group supported by the US, Israel and the United Arab Emirates. 

In Gaza, the genocidal actions of the Israeli regime have gripped the world with disgust and outrage for over two years now. The Gaza Health Ministry reports over 70,000 martyred by the Israeli regime since October 2023, but this is a conservative estimate compared to other figures, which report well over 100,000 dead.

Similarly, the situation in Sudan continues to be dire, largely out of the media spotlight, as the RSF continues to massacre civilians in thousands, including women and children.

Both the Israeli regime and RSF openly gloat on camera about their genocidal actions multiple times, fulfilling the UN definition of genocide: “acts committed with the specific intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group, as such, through killing, causing serious harm, inflicting deadly living conditions, preventing births, or forcibly transferring children.”

The appalling situation in Gaza, which has been considered the first “live-streamed genocide,” has become so dire that the Israeli regime and its political representatives are facing genocide and crimes against humanity charges in the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, respectively.

Similarly, RSF leaders have also been referred to the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. 

It should be a no-brainer that UN leadership would at least extend some level of sympathy to the plight of Palestinians and the Sudanese on the “International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of This Crime.”

Unfortunately, this was not the case.

The statement published on the United Nations official website commemorated the day of remembrance and prevention, but did not mention Palestine or Sudan whatsoever, despite a vague statement acknowledging that genocide persists.

“This year marks the tenth anniversary of the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of This Crime, and in September of 2025 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Resolution A/RES/79/328 expressing concern that, despite the efforts of the international community, many thousands of innocent human beings continue to be victims of genocide,” it stated.

More brazen is the opening statement of the statement: “A Decade Toward Preventing Genocide.” The Palestinians and Sudanese would disagree. 

Germany’s Annalena Baerbock, acting as the President of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, released a toothless statement about nations upholding “their obligations under the Genocide Convention to prevent genocide and to ensure accountability when it occurs,” a truly sick joke when one considers that Germany wasted no time to re-arm the Israeli regime after the so-called ceasefire, which has been regularly violated by the regime.

The erasure of Palestine and Sudan as they confront genocidal violence by two US-backed entities demonstrates that the United Nations is still a toothless body, despite having buy-in from all world leaders, a Western mechanism under imperialist control.

International law is written to establish legitimacy, but it is not enforced, as enforcement would threaten the legitimacy of its very authors. 

The erasure of ongoing genocide at the level of an international body - specifically on a day committed to preventing the very crime of genocide - further demonstrates that there is an ongoing effort by imperialist powers- led by the US - to maintain control of global narratives and manage perceptions of its partners, in this case Israel and the RSF. 

The ongoing failure of international law to prevent genocide and other horrific crimes has received widespread backlash across the globe, particularly in the case of the Gaza genocide, where the US veto power allowed Israel to continue committing daily atrocities.

Furthermore, when the US pushed forward its colonial plan to manage Gaza, which passed unchallenged in the United Nations Security Council (with Russia and China abstaining). 

Despite the clear imperialist grip on the UNSC, the only body capable of making decisions that can be enforced, and where the US abuses its veto power to effectively have the final say in any matter, the UN remains an arena of struggle. 

The genocide in Gaza has sparked a movement within the UN itself, via the form of the Hague Group, a coalition of countries uniting to uphold international law by taking concrete steps to isolate and punish the Israeli regime for its genocidal crimes.

The Hague Group has grown since its creation in January 2025, demonstrating that countries are not willing to sit idly by as Israeli atrocities continue unpunished. 

The Gaza genocide in particular has sparked a global conversation around international law, the institutions that enforce it, and the effectiveness of those institutions.

The erasure of US-backed criminality is a response to its apparatuses being challenged by both the public and state actors. 

At this critical moment in time, significant effort must be taken to ensure accountability.

These actions will challenge the very structures that imperialism has carefully crafted over decades of hegemony. As its hegemony declines, it will pressure its institutions, actors, and allies to commit brazen acts of defense of its crimes. 

The way forward is then clear: a movement demanding accountability must go on the offensive and exert pressure on every arena of struggle possible, from the halls of the United Nations to the town halls of suburban cities.

To truly commemorate the victims of genocide and further prevent genocide, we must name the perpetrators and honor the victims. 

Shabbir Rizvi is an American writer, researcher, political commentator and anti-war organizer

(The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Press TV)

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