ETHNIC CLEANSING Definition & Meaning

ethnic cleansing

noun

the elimination of an unwanted ethnic group or groups from a society, as by genocide or forced emigration.

ethnic cleansing

noun

euphemistic.
the violent removal by one ethnic group of other ethnic groups from the population of a particular area: used esp of the activities of Serbs against Croats and Muslims in the former Yugoslavia

ethnic cleansing

A euphemism to describe the forceful removal or genocide of minority ethnic groups ( see ethnicity ) during the breakup of Yugoslavia . It was used mainly to describe the Serbs' attacks on Muslims in Bosnia and Albanians in Kosovo. ( See Slobodan Milosevic and Kosovo War .)

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of ethnic cleansing¹

First recorded in 1985–90

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Compare Meanings

How does ethnic cleansing compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

ethnic cleansing vs. genocide

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

On 20 April, the police briefly told protesters that "pictures of children or babies from Gaza" would not be permitted, along with posters displaying the words "genocide" or "ethnic cleansing".

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However, in the past it has denied any involvement in ethnic cleansing in Darfur, saying the perpetrators had worn RSF clothing to shift the blame to them.

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"No state, no party to a conflict... can be exempt from the obligation not to commit war crimes, not to commit genocide, not to commit ethnic cleansing," Ms Spoljaric said.

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This would violate international law and has been described as "tantamount to ethnic cleansing" by the UN.

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“The rhetoric and the practice of the Egyptian government when it comes to the war — the ethnic cleansing, the genocide — are of course very distant from their practices.”

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ethnical ethnicity

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