The Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide was adopted in Paris, on December 9, 1948, at the third session of the United Nations General Assembly. The Genocide Convention was the first human rights treaty of the modern system, codifying an international norm that protects the right to life and to the existence of national, ethnic, racial, and religious minorities. Many historians and sociologists employ the term genocide to describe a range of atrocities involving killing large numbers of people. The legal concept of genocide was forged in the crucible of post-Second World War efforts to prosecute Nazi atrocities. The Genocide Convention continues to fascinate jurists, politicians, journalists, and human rights activists. In early 1945, genocide and crimes against humanity were cognates, terms devised to describe the barbarous acts of the Nazi regime.  Keywords:Genocide Convention, human rights, humanity, international crimes, Nazi regime