As a legal term, genocide is extremely difficult to apply: It is almost always impossible to prove the presence of an intent to destroy a population before a genocide has already been executed. However, decades of genocide research tell us to take warning signs of genocide seriously - even when it is difficult and uncomfortable.

In September, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) announced the last judgement in the trial against the former Khmer Rouge leader Khieu Samphan, marking the end of the legal process against the Khmer Rouge. The tribunal has been a complicated, yet significant transitional justice effort. In this article in Just Security, Ellen E. Stensrud explains why

There is an “atrocity gap” in international human rights protection that needs to be closed for an effective application of R2P online as well as in the real world.