Þjóðarmorð

Þjóðarmorð is the Icelandic word for genocide. It refers to acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group. These acts can include killing members of the group, causing serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about physical destruction, imposing measures intended to prevent births, or forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

The concept of genocide was first coined by Raphael Lemkin in 1944, who was a Polish-Jewish lawyer. He defined it as the destruction of a nation or an ethnic group. The United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, adopted in 1948, legally codified the term and established it as an international crime. Iceland, as a signatory to this convention, recognizes and condemns genocide.

While the term itself is Icelandic, the concept of genocide is universal and has been applied to historical events across the globe. Discussions and academic study of þjóðarmorð in Iceland would therefore draw upon international legal frameworks and historical analysis of genocidal acts worldwide. The Icelandic legal system would prosecute individuals for genocide if such a crime were committed within its jurisdiction or by its nationals abroad, in accordance with international law.