Silent Genocide

These tragedies occurred while the world stayed quiet.

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Silent Genocide - Genocide’s formal definition is “the deliberate and systematic destruction of, in whole or in part, an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group,” but many conflicts that seem to meet that definition are still overlooked. Ahead of the anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, BET.com takes a look at some of the world's ignored tragedies. (Photo: Themistocles Hakizimana/REUTERS)

Myanmar (Burma) - Since the Burmese military took control of the country in 1962, the country has been known as a regular violator of human rights. The Burmese military government launched violent campaigns against ethnic minorities in the country, committing executions, torture, rape, forced labor, forced relocation and burning down churches, schools and entire villages. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun/REUTERS/LANDOV)

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Myanmar (Burma) - Since the Burmese military took control of the country in 1962, the country has been known as a regular violator of human rights. The Burmese military government launched violent campaigns against ethnic minorities in the country, committing executions, torture, rape, forced labor, forced relocation and burning down churches, schools and entire villages. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun/REUTERS/LANDOV)

Displacement Dilemma - The ongoing conflict between the M23 and the Congolese government has displaced nearly 500,000 people. Since April, M23 has occupied large parts of Congo’s mineral-rich East. (Photo: Jerome Delay/AP Photo)

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Democratic Republic of Congo - The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was racked by civil wars from 1996 to 2003 and the violence claimed nearly five million lives — a death toll unseen since World War II.Although there have been numerous agreements reached and many lulls in fighting, violence in DRC is ongoing and civilians in the Eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, and Orientale bear the worst of the worst. Mass killings, rape as a weapon of war, and torture have all been reported. (Photo: James Akena/LANDOV/REUTERS)

Libya - Systematic killing in Libya has been alleged by a number of parties. The Gadhafi regime was accused of killing its own citizens with impunity shorty before NATO’s 2011 intervention and the death of Moammar Gadhafi. Fighters for the opposition were accused of indiscriminately killing Black Libyans because of the belief that all were pro-Gadhafi mercenaries. And NATO itself was accused of the indiscriminate killing of Libyan citizens when it launched aerial attacks on civilians and residential areas. (Photo: Goran Tomasevic/ REUTERS/LANDOV)

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Libya - Systematic killing in Libya has been alleged by a number of parties. The Gadhafi regime was accused of killing its own citizens with impunity shorty before NATO’s 2011 intervention and the death of Moammar Gadhafi. Fighters for the opposition were accused of indiscriminately killing Black Libyans because of the belief that all were pro-Gadhafi mercenaries. And NATO itself was accused of the indiscriminate killing of Libyan citizens when it launched aerial attacks on civilians and residential areas. (Photo: Goran Tomasevic/ REUTERS/LANDOV)

Photo By Photo: Goran Tomasevic/ REUTERS/LANDOV

Sudan - Sudan made international headlines, beginning in 2004, when the government was accused of arming the country’s Janjaweed militia, who employed a scorched earth campaign in the Western Sudanese territory of Darfur. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is also accused of ordering the attack on civilians in the disputed Abyei territory, and the states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile — all near South Sudan.  (Photo: Finbarr O'Reilly /Landov/REUTERS)

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Sudan - Sudan made international headlines, beginning in 2004, when the government was accused of arming the country’s Janjaweed militia, who employed a scorched earth campaign in the Western Sudanese territory of Darfur. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is also accused of ordering the attack on civilians in the disputed Abyei territory, and the states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile — all near South Sudan.  (Photo: Finbarr O'Reilly /Landov/REUTERS)

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African Children Sold and Shipped - A recent report showed children from several West African countries are being sold to “traders” in Britain by poor parents who are sold the dream of a better life.Once in the U.K., the children are used to obtain housing and other welfare benefits and exploited for labor as domestic slaves or sent to work in restaurants and shops.  (Photo: Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

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South Sudan - Before South Sudan became its own independent country in 2011, Sudan and groups in the territories now known as South Sudan engaged in a brutal, 22-year civil war. An estimated two million Southerners died in the conflict and nearly four million more were displaced. (Photo: Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

Syria - Syria’s turmoil has raged on since early in the year when President Bashar al-Assad began launching attacks on rebel forces and their area strongholds, leaving civilians in the crossfire. An estimated 2.5 million people have been displaced by the lengthy conflict. (Photo: Narciso Contreras/AP Photo)

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Syria - The crisis in Syria began in 2011 and since its start more than 60,000 people have died in fighting between rebels and the government (Photo: Narciso Contreras/AP Photo)

Guatemala - Guatemalan land disputes frequently arising between large land owners and indigenous rural communities often lead to hundreds of families bring forced from their homes and land per year. As a result, thousands of Guatemalans are left homeless and without access to adequate shelter, clean water, food and health care. According to Amnesty International, a 2011 eviction of approximately 2,500 indigenous people caused the death of a community member.  (Photo: JORGE DAN LOPEZ /LANDOV/REUTERS)

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Guatemala - In 1981, the Guatemalan government began systematically killing the country’s population of Mayan Indians, who were allegedly plotting a communist coup.The ordeal lasted two years and is often referred to as the Silent Holocaust. Murder, torture, rape and other atrocities were committed by Guatemalan forces, who went village by village, rounding up Mayans.  (Photo: JORGE DAN LOPEZ /LANDOV/REUTERS)