Parliamentarian warns of "genocide" of the Ukrainian nation 1:31
Washington (CNN) --
US President Joe Biden said this week that the atrocities being uncovered in Ukraine as Russia continues its invasion qualify as "genocide."
The statement is not expected to spark any immediate change in US policy toward the conflict, US officials familiar with the matter told CNN, though Biden's comment marks a dramatic rhetorical escalation.
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"We'll let the lawyers decide, internationally, whether he qualifies or not," the president said, "but it sure looks that way to me."
So what exactly does "genocide" mean and how is it proven?
This is what you need to know:
What does genocide mean?
The United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, adopted after World War II, defines genocide as "acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or or religious", including:
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Kill group members.
Causing serious physical or psychological harm to group members.
Deliberately subjecting the group to living conditions calculated to bring about its total or partial physical destruction.
Impose measures aimed at preventing births within the group.
Forcibly transferring children from the group to another group.
But world leaders can designate any event as genocide using whatever criteria they choose, according to Leila Sadat, a war crimes expert at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis.
How many times has the United States designated a genocide?
The United States has made only eight formal genocide designations, according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The American hesitancy to call the atrocities "genocide" has its roots in the strict legal definition of the term, which was written after the Holocaust in 1948.
The UN Genocide Convention obliges countries to intervene once genocide is determined to be taking place, stating that "genocide, whether committed in time of peace or war, is a crime of international law that they undertake to prevent and punish".
How is genocide designated?
Biden administration officials cited the genocide designation in Myanmar, made last month, as an example of a process used to generate the label.
The United States had to accumulate evidence over the years to reach a determination that Myanmar's persecution of the Rohingya minority constituted genocide.
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Another option for world governments is to seek prosecution for genocide through the International Criminal Court, although the process is lengthy and proving genocide can be complicated.
"The difference between crimes against humanity, which is a horrible crime, and the subset of crimes against humanity that we call 'genocide' is that we have to show that, essentially, the perpetrators in this case want to totally or partially destroy the people. Ukrainian," Sadat told CNN.
"And it's a very high bar," he continued. "Whether it should be a very high bar is another question."
How long does it take to process genocide?
Long time.
The International Criminal Court and national courts "need to identify specific individuals who have reasonable grounds to believe that they actually committed these crimes individually," Sadat said.
"So criminal investigations are going to take a lot longer because you have to identify the perpetrators; you have to collect evidence against them. And then ultimately you would bring criminal trials to try to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that, in fact, perpetrated the crime, whether it be war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide," he added.
What is the difference between genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes?
Genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes are related but distinct labels, according to Sadat:
War crimes
are violations of the laws and customs of war.
Crimes against humanity
are defined as widespread or systemic attacks directed against civilians.
Genocide
is when crimes against humanity are carried out with the aim of eliminating a population.
Sadat describes the three labels as the "cascade of atrocities".
What is the difference between genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity?
“Once we have active aggression like this with an invasion of a sovereign country, normally the cascade starts with war crimes.
Then we see the crimes against humanity and we have cores of genocidal murder within the crimes against humanity,” he said.
Could Vladimir Putin be charged with genocide?
Hypothetically, yes.
The International Criminal Court judges four types of crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity, crimes of aggression and war crimes.
Any person charged with a crime within the jurisdiction of the court may be tried.
The court judges people, not countries, and focuses on those who bear the greatest responsibility: leaders and officials.
Although Ukraine is not a member of the court, it previously accepted its jurisdiction.
Putin could therefore theoretically be charged by the court with genocide.
However, the International Criminal Court does not conduct trials in absentia, so he would have to be surrendered by Russia or arrested outside of Russia.
How are world leaders reacting to Biden's comment?
Biden announced tough sanctions against Russia 2:07
In Ukraine, Biden's comment was welcomed by President Volodymyr Zelensky, who tweeted praise for the comment almost immediately.
"True words from a true leader," he wrote.
"Calling things by their proper name is essential to confronting evil. We are grateful for the US assistance provided so far and we urgently need more heavy weapons to prevent further Russian atrocities."
But at least one key US ally, French President Emmanuel Macron, has rejected the comment.
“I want to keep trying, as much as I can, to stop this war and rebuild peace.
I am not sure that an escalation of rhetoric will serve that cause,” Macron said.
"What we can say with certainty is that the situation is unacceptable and that these are war crimes. We are experiencing unprecedented war crimes on our soil, our European soil."
CNN's Kevin Liptak and Zachary B. Wolf contributed to this report.
GenocideRussia invasion of UkraineJoe Biden