December 9 - International Day of Commemoration of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide

December 9 is the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime.

It was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly. The date was chosen for a reason: on December 9, 1948, the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide was adopted.

The document became the first human rights treaty adopted by the General Assembly. All 193 member states that adopted the Convention unanimously affirmed that each country has the responsibility to protect its population from genocide and to prevent such a crime, including incitement to it.

The purpose of this day is to raise awareness of the Convention and honor the memory of those who fell victim to genocide.

For several years now, the Prosecutor General's Office of Belarus has been painstakingly investigating the genocide of the Belarusian people. Each excavation uncovers horrific images of the atrocities of the Nazi punitive forces and reveals blank spots in the history of missing persons and burned villages.

Dmitry Brylev, Head of the Department of the Prosecutor General's Office of Belarus:

"Based on the investigation, we can now confidently state that one in three citizens of the BSSR perished. Not one in four, as previously believed, meaning at least 3 million citizens. More than 200 large cities and villages were destroyed. The number of settlements that were completely or partially burned also increased by 520, to 12,868. Although at the beginning of the year, we thought there would be light at the end of the tunnel. No, there are 520 more settlements we didn't know about before. The number of Khatyn sisters has also increased by two, to at least 290. Remember, before the criminal case was opened in April 2021, everyone claimed that 186 settlements shared Khatyn's fate. No, it's at least 290."

A Mogilev resident has been taken into custody.

The day before, the Mogilev Regional Prosecutor's Office authorized the detention of an 18-year-old man. The young administrator of Telegram channels denied genocide in a public chat.

Dmitry Proshko, prosecutor of the Mogilev Regional Prosecutor's Office:

"According to the criminal case materials, in September 2024, the accused posted a comment in a public Telegram chat, posing as an administrator, denying well-known historical facts, specifically the systematic extermination of the population of the Byelorussian SSR by the Nazi invaders and their accomplices during the Great Patriotic War and the very existence of Nazi Germany's General Plan Ost. The young man's actions are classified under Part One of Article 130-2 of the Criminal Code, which carries a penalty of arrest or restriction of liberty for up to five years, or imprisonment for the same term."

In 2026, the Prosecutor General's Office will continue a large-scale investigation into the criminal case of genocide against the Belarusian people.