At a side event to the Assembly of State Parties to the Rome Statute at the German House in New York hosted by the Permanent Mission of Germany to the UN, Professor Safferling gave the main speech on the 75th anniversary of the Genocide Convention on 7 December 2023. At the event, that was co-sponsored by the States of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Israel, Poland, Rwanda and the UN Office of Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect, Professor Safferling addressed the difficulties in applying the crime of genocide legally while it is being used as a political term for all sorts of mass atrocities. He emphasised the need to monitor situations world-wide in order to react at an early stage. Genocide is never a one-day event or a sudden outbreak. It is prepared, planned, instigated, and develops over a longer period of time. International law and politics need to put the respect for the human dignity at the centre to effectively fight against genocide. (cs)