The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of the Genocide was adopted in 1948 and entered into force in January 1951. The Convention includes for the first time an international definition of the crime of genocide and, thus, protects so-called third generation human rights, the collective rights of peoples. Next to genocide itself, the Genocide convention also prohibits and punishes conspiracy to commit genocide, public provocations to commit genocide, attempts to commit genocide, and participation in genocide. Different from other conventions, the principles of the Genocide Convention are considered as parts of the international customary law, which makes them binding to all states and not only to the parties to the convention. The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of the Genocide is part of the 15 fundamental conventions covered under the GSP regulation.

The Convention does not have a monitoring body