“Never again,” swore the world as it recovered from the horrors that came to light after the Holocaust: never again would we let human actions would sink to such a level as ignoble a depth as that of the attempted extermination of an entire people. It was a promise full of resolve and unanimity, but a promise that would be broken again and again. In December 1948, the then members of the United Nations General Assembly, without any controversy, approved the Genocide Convention. It defined what the crime of genocide entailed and that it was an act to be prevented and its perpetrators punished. 66 years have passed since then and we have been unable to keep this promise – repeatedly breaking its own principles – in places like Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda or Darfur. Man – a seemingly civilized species – has been unable to resist the temptation to systematically destroy “undesirable” members of a society. There have been and always will be characteristics that define and divide us: race, religion, caste and culture, among others. Classification is the first and ever-present phase of genocide: there will always be an “us” and a proverbial “them.” While prejudice is human nature and may be forgivable, acting on prejudice is not. There are various schools of thought as to why genocide continues at this deplorable rate and what must be done to fulfill our promise. There are those who believe that it is the inertia of the international community that allows massacres and tragedies to occur, equating apathy or neutrality with complicity with evil. While other nations can play a role in solving the genocide, absolute dependence on others is part of the problem. No nation or group of nations can be given such an answer... middle of paper... the best antidote to genocide is popular education and the development of social and cultural tolerance for diversity... Finally, the movement that will end the genocide must not come from international armed interventions, but... it must come from each of us who has the courage to challenge discrimination, hatred and tyranny." Our promise of "Never Again" , although made in good faith, was destined to be broken. "Never again" should not just be a promise we make to others, but a promise that every individual, group and society makes to itself - not just to prevent the commission of such a crime, but for We will never commit it ourselves. Whether this utopian vision will materialize, but until then, as Stanton said, "we must never let the rubble of our barbaric past prevent us from imagining a peaceful future in which law and democratic freedom will rule." the earth."