Gregory H. Stanton is the former Research Professor in Genocide Studies and Prevention at the
George Mason University in
Fairfax County
Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria, Virginia, Alexandria and ...
,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, United States. He is best known for his work in the area of
genocide
Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Lat ...
studies. He is the founder and president of Genocide Watch,
[Genocide Watch]
/ref> the founder and director of the Cambodian Genocide Project, and the Chair of the Alliance Against Genocide. From 2007 to 2009 he was the president of the International Association of Genocide Scholars
The International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) is an international non-partisan organization that seeks to further research and teaching about the nature, causes, and consequences of genocide, including the Armenian genocide, the Holoca ...
.
Early life and academic background
Stanton comes from the lineage of women's suffrage activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Henry Brewster Stanton, a notable Abolitionist
Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people.
The British ...
. He worked as a voting rights worker in Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
, a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Ivory Coast, and as Church World Service
Church World Service (CWS) was founded in 1946 and is a cooperative ministry of 37 Christian denominations and communions, providing sustainable self-help, development, disaster relief, and refugee assistance around the world. The CWS mission is ...
/ CARE Field Director in Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...
in 1980.
Stanton was the Research Professor in Genocide Studies
Genocide studies is an academic field of study that researches genocide. Genocide became a field of study in the mid-1940s, with the work of Raphael Lemkin, who coined ''genocide'' and started genocide research, and its primary subjects were the ...
and Prevention
Prevention may refer to:
Health and medicine
* Preventive healthcare, measures to prevent diseases or injuries rather than curing them or treating their symptoms
General safety
* Crime prevention, the attempt to reduce deter crime and crim ...
at the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution
The Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution (formerly known as the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution or S-CAR) is a constituent college
A collegiate university is a university in which functions are divided ...
, George Mason University, Arlington, Virginia, until his retirement in 2019. From 2003 to 2009 he was the James Farmer Professor in Human Rights at the University of Mary Washington
The University of Mary Washington (UMW) is a public liberal arts university in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Founded in 1908 as the Fredericksburg Teachers College, the institution was named Mary Washington College in 1938 after Mary Ball Washi ...
in Fredericksburg, Virginia. He has been a Law Professor at Washington and Lee University
, mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future"
, established =
, type = Private liberal arts university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.092 billion (2021)
, president = William C. Dudley
, provost = Lena Hill
, city = Lexington ...
, American University, and the University of Swaziland
The University of Eswatini (or UNESWA; formerly known as the University of Swaziland, or UNISWA) is the national university of Eswatini.
It was established by act of parliament in 1982. The university developed from the University of Botswana, L ...
. He has degrees from Oberlin College, Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the academic study of religion or for leadership roles in religion, gov ...
, Yale Law School
Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by '' U.S. News & Worl ...
, and a Doctorate in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...
. He was a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (or Wilson Center) is a quasi-government entity and think tank which conducts research to inform public policy. Located in the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Wash ...
(2001–2002).
Career
Stanton was a law professor at Washington and Lee University
, mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future"
, established =
, type = Private liberal arts university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.092 billion (2021)
, president = William C. Dudley
, provost = Lena Hill
, city = Lexington ...
from 1985 to 1991, was a Fulbright Professor at the University of Swaziland
The University of Eswatini (or UNESWA; formerly known as the University of Swaziland, or UNISWA) is the national university of Eswatini.
It was established by act of parliament in 1982. The university developed from the University of Botswana, L ...
, and was a professor of Justice, Law, and Society at the American University. From 2003 to 2009, he was the James Farmer Professor in Human Rights at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Stanton founded the Cambodian Genocide Project at Yale
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
in 1981 and since then has been a driving force to bring the Khmer Rouge to justice.
Stanton was the Chair of the American Bar Association Young Lawyer's Division Committee on Human Rights and a member of the A.B.A.'s Standing Committee on World Order Under Law. Stanton was a legal advisor to Rukh, the Ukrainian independence movement (1988–1992), work for which he was named the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America's 1992 Man of the Year.
Stanton served in the State Department (1992–1999). At the State Department he drafted the United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
resolutions that created the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR; french: Tribunal pénal international pour le Rwanda; rw, Urukiko Mpanabyaha Mpuzamahanga Rwashyiriweho u Rwanda) was an international court established in November 1994 by the United Nation ...
, the Burundi Commission of Inquiry, and the Central African Arms Flow Commission. He also drafted the U.N. Peacekeeping Operations resolutions that helped bring about an end to the Mozambican civil war
The Mozambican Civil War ( pt, Guerra Civil Moçambicana) was a civil war fought in Mozambique from 1977 to 1992. Like many regional African conflicts during the late twentieth century, the Mozambican Civil War possessed local dynamics but was a ...
. In 1994, Stanton won the American Foreign Service Association's W. Averell Harriman Award for "extraordinary contributions to the practice of diplomacy exemplifying intellectual courage," based on his dissent from U.S. policy on the Rwandan genocide
The Rwandan genocide occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed H ...
.
Stanton wrote the State Department options paper on ways to bring the Khmer Rouge to justice in Cambodia
Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...
. Stanton was deeply involved in the U.N.
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...
-Cambodian government negotiations that brought about the creation of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, for which he drafted internal rules of procedure.
Stanton is best known for his authorship of The Ten Stages of Genocide, a model of the genocidal process that the US State Department and UN have used in predicting and taking steps to prevent genocide. His Ten Stage model is used in courses on genocide in schools and colleges around the world.
In 1999 Stanton founded Genocide Watch. From 1999 to 2000, he also served as co-chair of the Washington Working Group for the International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals f ...
.
In 2004, Stanton published a proposal to establish an Office for Genocide Prevention at the UN. With other members of the International Campaign to End Genocide, he met with UN officials to lobby for the proposal. In 2004 in Stockholm, Secretary General Kofi Annan announced the creation of the Office of the UN Special Advisor for the Prevention of Genocide.
In 2007, Stanton was elected President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars, to serve until 2009. He served as First Vice President of the Association from 2005 to 2007. In 2013, the organization gave Stanton its Distinguished Service Award and made him a Life Member.
Rwanda
In 1989, after leading a genocide prevention training program for officials from Rwanda and surrounding countries, Stanton met with President Juvenal Habyarimana to ask him to remove ethnic identities from the Rwandan national identification cards because the ID cards could be used to identify people to be killed in a genocide. The Rwandan genocide of Tutsis occurred in 1994.
Zimbabwe
In 2010, Stanton demanded that Robert Mugabe
Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of the ...
be prosecuted for the crime of genocide
Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Lati ...
. He proposed a "Mixed UN-Zimbabwean Criminal Tribunal" inspired by the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, adding, "Mugabe's reign of terror must end."
In 2012, Stanton called for the United States to release "all diplomatic and intelligence cables relating to the Gukurahundi
The ''Gukurahundi'' was a genocide in Zimbabwe which arose in 1982 until the Unity Accord in 1987. It derives from a Shona language term which loosely translates to "the early rain which washes away the chaff before the spring rains".
Duri ...
massacres" of Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...
and to explain the U.S. decision "to remain silent", in order to "clear its conscience".
Iran
Stanton has accused Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
– particularly Mahmoud Ahmadinejad – of incitement to genocide
Incitement to genocide is a crime under international law which prohibits inciting (encouraging) the commission of genocide. An extreme form of hate speech, incitement to genocide is considered an inchoate offense and is theoretically subject t ...
, explaining that the constant calls by the Iranian regime to destroy Israel directly advocate genocide.[https://d0dbb2cb-698c-4513-aa47-eba3a335e06f.filesusr.com/ugd/e5b74f_997040adea5447898ba27694eb7b1f93.pdf ] Stanton referenced speeches by Ahmadinejad calling for the destruction of Israel and advocating that Israeli Jews
Israeli Jews or Jewish Israelis ( he, יהודים ישראלים, translit=Yehudim Yisraelim) are Israeli citizens and nationals who are Jewish through either their Jewish ethnicity and/or their adherence to Judaism. The term also include ...
should be transferred to Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. He described the proposal as incitement to genocide and advocacy of forced population transfer
Population transfer or resettlement is a type of mass migration, often imposed by state policy or international authority and most frequently on the basis of ethnicity or religion but also due to economic development. Banishment or exile is a ...
.[https://d0dbb2cb-698c-4513-aa47-eba3a335e06f.filesusr.com/ugd/e5b74f_9fe4e0ba4a024fe59f7adb5f82d804b5.pdf ] Stanton wrote:Iran is the only country since Nazi Germany that has openly expressed its genocidal intent to wipe another nation off the map while pursuing a program to develop nuclear weapons. Few believed that Hitler was serious about his genocidal intentions until Nazis carried out the Holocaust. The Iranian President denies that the Holocaust even happened.
Stanton congratulated Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German former politician and scientist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), she previously served as Leader of the Opp ...
for opposing Iran's Nuclear program, and also praised Canada's Ministry of Foreign Affairs for recalling the Canadian Ambassador to Iran.
Stanton has condemned Iran's nuclear program, adding that NATO should protect Israel to safeguard the country from a possible nuclear missile strike.
Somaliland
In an article for the Mail and Guardian
The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal sys ...
, Stanton acknowledged the Isaaq Genocide that occurred in the Democratic Republic of Somalia under Siad Barre. He advocated for the recognition of Somaliland as a separate state from Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
, arguing it could "help stave off conflict in a region that has suffered terribly."
Genocide Watch
In 1999 Stanton founded Genocide Watch, a non-governmental organization campaigning against genocide based in Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
Genocide Watch is the chair and coordinator of the Alliance Against Genocide, which includes 100 organizations in 24 countries, including the Minority Rights Group, the International Crisis Group, the Aegis Trust
The Aegis Trust, founded in 2000, is the British NGO which campaigns to prevent genocide worldwide. Based at the United Kingdom's Holocaust Centre, which opened in 1995, the Aegis Trust coordinates the UK Genocide Prevention All-Party Parliamentary ...
, and Survival International
Survival International is a human rights organisation formed in 1969, a London based charity that campaigns for the rights of indigenous and/or tribal peoples and uncontacted peoples.
The organisation's campaigns generally focus on tribal peo ...
. Its board of advisers includes former commander of United Nations peacekeeping forces in Rwanda Roméo Dallaire
Roméo Antonius Dallaire (born June 25, 1946) is a Canadian humanitarian, author, retired senator and Canadian Forces lieutenant-general. Dallaire served as force commander of UNAMIR, the ill-fated United Nations peacekeeping force for Rwanda ...
, former Nuremberg Prosecutor Benjamin Ferencz, former US Ambassador to the United Nations
The United States ambassador to the United Nations is the leader of the U.S. delegation, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. The position is formally known as the permanent representative of the United States of America to the United Nations ...
Samantha Power
Samantha Jane Power (born September 21, 1970) is an American journalist, diplomat and government official who is currently serving as the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development. She previously served as the 28th ...
, and former UN Special Adviser for the Prevention of Genocide Adama Dieng
Adama Dieng (born 22 May 1950, Senegal) is a former UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide and former board member of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance and a former registrar of the International Criminal ...
.
Genocide Watch and the Alliance Against Genocide have led coalition efforts to end genocides in Kosovo, East Timor, Sudan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Myanmar; and to prevent imminent genocides in Macedonia, Côte d'Ivoire, and Ethiopia.
In 2010, Genocide Watch was the first organization to assert that the 1980s Gukurahundi
The ''Gukurahundi'' was a genocide in Zimbabwe which arose in 1982 until the Unity Accord in 1987. It derives from a Shona language term which loosely translates to "the early rain which washes away the chaff before the spring rains".
Duri ...
massacres in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...
met the definition of genocide, calling for the prosecution of Zimbabwean leaders including president Robert Mugabe
Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of the ...
.
Stanton has formed alliances with dozens of human rights leaders, such as Baroness Kennedy and Ewelina Ochab from the Coalition for Genocide Response. In 2020, Genocide Watch joined other human rights groups urging the U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to investigate the actions of the Chinese government regarding Uyghurs
The Uyghurs; ; ; ; zh, s=, t=, p=Wéiwú'ěr, IPA: ( ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. The Uyghur ...
and other Turkic Muslim minorities in the Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
region, and "develop strategies" to end violations that would amount to acts of genocide. In the case of Bosco Ntaganda
Bosco Ntaganda (born 5 November 1973) is a convicted war criminal and the former military chief of staff of the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), an armed militia group operating in the North Kivu province of the Democrati ...
within the International Criminal Court investigation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Genocide Watch submitted '' amicus curiae'' observations along with the Antiquities Coalition
The Antiquities Coalition (AC) is a non-governmental organization working to stop the looting and trafficking of antiquities. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C.
The AC was founded in the aftermath of the Egyptian Revolution in January 2011 ...
and Blue Shield International, on the interpretation of attacks on cultural property in the Rome Statute
The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court is the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC). It was adopted at a diplomatic conference in Rome, Italy on 17 July 1998Michael P. Scharf (August 1998)''Results of the R ...
.
Stanton has criticized the term " ethnic cleansing", calling it a term invented by Slobodan Milošević as a term used for the denial and cover-up of genocide, stating it whitewashes the crimes and impedes forceful action to stop genocide.
Publications
Articles
The Ten Stages of Genocide
Other Articles
by Dr. Gregory Stanton
QAnon is a Nazi Cult Rebranded
by Gregory Stanton
Emerging paradigms in Genocide Prevention
(with Andrea Bartoli and Tetsushi Ogata)
References
External links
The CallTEDx The Call
Biography
at George Mason University website
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanton, Gregory
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Oberlin College alumni
People from Fredericksburg, Virginia
University of Mary Washington faculty
American human rights activists
Yale Law School alumni
Harvard Divinity School alumni
University of Chicago alumni
Peace Corps volunteers
Genocide education
Genocide studies scholars
Activists from Virginia