Ethnic cleansing refers to the systematic policy designed by one group to purge by violent and terror-inspiring means civilian populations based on ethnicity or religion from geographic areas. This policy violates essential international humanitarian law prescriptions and can lead to serious human rights abuses, including in the form of mass displaced persons. The term has a particular resonance in the context of events such as those that occurred in the former Yugoslavia, in Rwanda, or elsewhere. The underlying motives for resorting to such measures include a complex mix of historical claims, grievances and fears, nationalistic aspirations and expectations, as well as religious and psychological elements.
The jurisprudence of international courts and tribunals has not been able to provide a clear definition of the concept, and its precise boundaries are somewhat unclear. However, the case law of ICTY trial chambers in such cases as Milutinovic, Stakic and Brdanin have indicated that deportation or forcible transfer may constitute acts of ethnic cleansing if the perpetrators have the requisite specific intent (dolus specialis) to render an area inhabited by certain groups ‘ethnically homogenous’.
It is worth mentioning that, in the absence of any legal concepts dealing exclusively with this phenomenon, references to ‘ethnic cleansing’ in jurisprudence usually take place in the context of debates on genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes. This is a reflection of the fact that, at the moment, the international community does not have any legally binding legal code governing forcible population transfers. It can be hoped, nevertheless, that with continued vigour and momentum, this will eventually change and that the expression ‘ethnic cleansing’ will become a legally binding criminal concept in its own right.
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