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47 Geo. J. Int'l L. 573 (2015-2016)
Convert or Die: Forced Religious Conversions and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide

handle is hein.journals/geojintl47 and id is 578 raw text is: CONVERT OR DIE: FORCED RELIGIOUS CONVERSIONS AND THE CONVENTION ON THE PREVENTION AND PUNISHMENT OF THE CRIME OF GENOCIDE NATHAN LEE* ABSTRACT Through violence and threats, oppressive regimes and militant groups around the world have forced people to abandon their religious beliefs and adopt new ones. To survive, many give into this coercion and convert to another religion. Most applicable penal instruments fail to adequately protect against this conduct. The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, however, provides adequate protection against this crime. The Convention prohibits specific genocidal acts that are committed against a protected group, including religious groups. The Convention's purpose is to prevent the destruction of these protected groups-the type of destruction caused by forced religious conversions. Specifically, forced conversions prevent births within a religious group and cause children from that group to be transferred to a different religious group. Both of these actions qualify as genocidal activities that the Convention prohibits. This Article carefully examines the Convention's text, purpose, and drafting history to show that it protects individuals from having to change their religious beliefs in the face of severe threats and persecution. By including religious groups within the Convention's protections, while excluding other groups, such as political groups, the drafters indicated that they thought religious beliefs were of paramount importance and that a person should not be required to change religious beliefs to avoid persecution. Several international courts have already recognized the broad scope of the Convention and have applied it in instances of mass rapes and severe mental trauma. Recognizing that it also applies to forced religious conversions is consistent with the Convention's text, purpose, and drafting history and provides courts with an adequate and important legal instrument to address this crime. I. INTRODUCTION .................................... 574 * Law Clerk for the Honorable James 0. Browning, United States District Judge for the District of New Mexico, 2014-2015 term;J.D., 2014, Southern Methodist University School of Law. I would like to thank Professor Anthony Colangelo for reviewing and providing comments through multiple drafts of this Article. © 2016, Nathan Lee.

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