Ethnic cleansing is forcible population transfer conducted on a discriminatory basis against specific ethnic or religious groups. It is a heinous practice that violates an array of individual and collective civil, political, economic, and cultural rights. Moreover, when conducted in times of armed conflict it also violates key prescriptions of international humanitarian law. As a gross violation of international law it may give rise to international criminal responsibility (Humanitarian Law, International).
Forcible population transfer has long been used as a method of resolving inter-ethnic conflicts and of creating nation-states. The Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III (745-727 b.c.e.) is generally credited with the first recorded instance of ethnic cleansing, when he forced one-half of the inhabitants out of his conquered territories and replaced them with those loyal to him. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, forcible transfers of populations were common in Europe, Russia, and North America.
The emergence of the expression ‘ethnic cleansing’ as an internationally recognized phenomenon reflects a significant shift in international attitudes towards forcible transfers of populations. In addition to genocide, ethnic cleansing is now considered a trigger for the responsibility to protect (Resolution 60/1 ‘World Summit Outcome’ paras 138-39; Schabas 225).
Nevertheless, the precise contours of what constitutes ‘ethnic cleansing’ remain controversial. As the ICJ itself has noted, it involves ‘more than just removal. It must be brought about by force or intimidation, or by direct discriminatory measures which reach the critical threshold of severity’. Consequently, it remains unclear exactly where the line is drawn between ‘ethnic cleansing’ and other forms of indirect discriminatory practices such as the prohibition of ethnic associations; the removal of elected representatives; the denial of the use of minority languages; work restrictions; restricted access to education, housing, medicine, food, and humanitarian aid; and politically motivated violence in the form of pogroms.