Past, Present and Future of Genocide: A Conversation with Annyssa Bellal

In the Issue No. 18 of the Global Challenges podcast,  Dr Annyssa Bellal, Executive Director of the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform, reflects on the evolving understanding of genocide in international law and global discourse. The interview,  for the Geneva Graduate Institute accompanies a special issue dedicated to “Genocide and International Law.”

Why is the Holocaust considered the foundational reference point for understanding genocide? How has the term “genocide” been shaped, politicised, and sometimes instrumentalised over time? And does the growing competition between legal concepts such as war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide ultimately hinder justice rather than advance it? These are among the key questions explored in this wide-ranging discussion.

Drawing on her expertise in international humanitarian law and peacebuilding, Dr Bellal situates genocide within its historical, legal, and political contexts. She examines how the Holocaust came to serve as a fundamental model for conceptualising genocide, while also highlighting the limitations of relying on a single historical paradigm to understand diverse experiences of mass violence across the world.

The conversation also addresses the risks associated with the instrumentalisation of the term “genocide” in political and legal arenas. Dr Bellal reflects on how the gravity attached to the label can create hierarchies of suffering, fuel polarised debates, and complicate accountability efforts. Rather than strengthening justice, the competition between legal categories, she argues, can sometimes obscure the lived realities of victims and survivors.

Throughout the interview, Dr Bellal underscores the importance of nuanced legal analysis combined with a broader peacebuilding perspective—one that prioritises prevention, accountability, and the long-term conditions for peace, beyond labels alone.

The podcast is part of the Global Challenges platform of the Geneva Graduate Institute, which brings academic research into dialogue with global policy debates. This episode offers valuable insights for scholars, practitioners, and anyone interested in the intersections between international law, memory, and peacebuilding.