The concept of genocide came to light at a conference in Madrid in 1933. Its promoter, the Polish Jewish jurist Raphael Lemkin, warned of the “contagious nature of all social psychosis” In 1948 the UN adopted the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

On January 26, the Court in The Hague demanded that Israel take measures to prevent a genocide against the Palestinian population. The concept coined by Lemkin marked the development of international law and human rights.