Raphael Lemkin is hardly a household name these days, but back in the 1940s he became the driving force behind what would become The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

An American of Polish-Jewish descent, Lemkin coined the term genocide after dedicating his life to pursuing the international legal means to end the barbarity of mass extermination.

One the eve of the International Day of Reflection on the Genocide in Rwanda, April 7, we have reached into the archives of UN Radio to bring you this podcast – before the term was even invented – from 1958, on Lemkin and his extraordinary achievement.

Please listen to the first “podcast classic” episode from The Lid is On.

Duration: 16'00"

(Music credit: Una Reverencia a Bach, by Musick's Recreation, Milena Cord-to-Krax: Gavotte (BVW995)

The Lid is On is also available on Sound Cloud.

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