December 28, 2010
On December 22, 2010, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed S.Con.Res.71, a non-binding resolution that recognizes genocide prevention as a national security interest of the United States and urges the President and senior government leaders to rededicate efforts to “anticipate, prevent, and mitigate acts of genocide and other mass atrocities.” With a coalition of over a half-dozen organizations, the anti-genocide community worked actively to support the resolution’s passage.
Noting the failure after the Holocaust to uphold the vow of “Never Again,” the resolution states, “Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), [t]hat the Senate recommits to honor the memory of the victims of the Holocaust as well as the victims of all past genocides and mass atrocities.”
Backed by 21 bipartisan co-sponsors, the resolution recognizes the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and its Committee on Conscience, as well as the publication of the Genocide Prevention Task Force’s (GPTF) final report. In line with recommendations from the GPTF report, the resolution encourages an integrated government approach to genocide prevention and close coordination with members of the international community.
The resolution’s passage comes on the heels of the State Department’s first-ever diplomacy and defense review, which establishes genocide prevention as a priority.