[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 413 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 413

Recognizing 20 years since the genocide in Rwanda, and affirming it is 
    in the national interest of the United States to work in close 
 coordination with international partners to help prevent and mitigate 
                 acts of genocide and mass atrocities.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 7, 2014

  Mr. Coons (for himself, Mr. Menendez, and Mr. Flake) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Recognizing 20 years since the genocide in Rwanda, and affirming it is 
    in the national interest of the United States to work in close 
 coordination with international partners to help prevent and mitigate 
                 acts of genocide and mass atrocities.

Whereas, in the aftermath of the Holocaust, the United Nations General Assembly 
        adopted the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of 
        Genocide declaring that genocide, whether committed in a time of peace 
        or war, is a crime under international law;
Whereas the United States was the first country to sign the Convention on the 
        Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, and the Senate voted 
        to ratify the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime 
        of Genocide on February 11, 1986;
Whereas, for approximately 100 days between April 7, 1994, and July 1994, more 
        than 800,000 civilians were killed in a genocide in Rwanda that targeted 
        members of the Tutsi, moderate Hutu, and Twa populations, resulting in 
        the horrific deaths of nearly 70 percent of the Tutsi population living 
        in Rwanda;
Whereas the massacres of innocent Rwandan civilians were premeditated and 
        systematic attempts to eliminate the Tutsi population by Hutu 
        extremists, fueled by hatred and incitement propagated by newspapers and 
        radio;
Whereas, in addition to systematic targeting of an ethnic minority in Rwanda 
        resulting in the mass slaughter of innocent civilians, rape was also 
        used as a weapon of war;
Whereas, despite the deployment of the United Nations Assistance Mission for 
        Rwanda (UNAMIR) in October 1993 following the end of the Rwandan Civil 
        War, its mandate was insufficient to ensure the protection of large 
        swathes of the population, demonstrating the inability of the United 
        Nations to effectively respond to the unfolding genocide and stop or 
        mitigate its impact;
Whereas, on July 4, 1994, the Rwandan Patriotic Front, a trained military group 
        consisting of formerly exiled Tutsis, began its takeover of the country, 
        which resulted in an ending of the genocide, though not a complete end 
        to the violence, including retribution;
Whereas, in October 1994, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) 
        was established as the first international tribunal with the mandate to 
        prosecute the crime of genocide and ultimately prosecuted 63 individuals 
        for war crimes, including genocide and crimes against humanity as well 
        as the first convictions for rape as a weapon of war;
Whereas the United States Government supports initiatives to ensure that victims 
        of genocide and mass atrocities are not forgotten, and has committed to 
        work with international partners to help prevent genocide and mass 
        atrocities and identify and support a range of actions to protect 
        civilian populations at risk;
Whereas, in July 2004, the Senate adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution 133 and 
        the House of Representatives adopted House Concurrent Resolution 467, 
        declaring that ``the atrocities unfolding in Darfur, Sudan, are 
        genocide'', and calling on the United States Government and the 
        international community to take measures to address the situation 
        immediately;
Whereas, in September 2004, the United States Government, in testimony by 
        Secretary of State Colin Powell before the Committee on Foreign 
        Relations of the Senate, declared the ongoing conflict in Darfur, Sudan, 
        a ``genocide'' perpetrated by the government based in Khartoum against 
        its own people and affecting over 2,400,000 people in Sudan, including 
        an estimated 200,000 fatalities;
Whereas, in September 2005, the United States joined other members of the United 
        Nations in adopting United Nations General Assembly Resolution 60/1, 
        which affirmed that the international community has a responsibility to 
        use appropriate diplomatic, humanitarian and other peaceful means, in 
        accordance with Chapter VI (Military enforcement) and VIII (Regional 
        Arrangements) of the United Nations Charter, to help protect populations 
        from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against 
        humanity;
Whereas, in December 2011, the Senate unanimously passed Senate Concurrent 
        Resolution 71, recognizing the United States national interest in 
        helping to prevent and mitigate acts of genocide and other mass 
        atrocities against civilians, and urging the development of a whole of 
        government approach to prevent and mitigate such acts;
Whereas, in April 2012, President Barack Obama established the Atrocities 
        Prevention Board within the United States inter-agency structure, 
        chaired by National Security staff, to help identify and more 
        effectively address atrocity threats, including genocide, as a core 
        national security interest and core moral responsibility;
Whereas, in July 2013, the National Intelligence Council completed the first 
        ever National Intelligence Estimate on the global risk for mass 
        atrocities and genocide;
Whereas, in January 2014, the National Director of Intelligence testified before 
        the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate, stating that ``the 
        overall risk of mass atrocities worldwide will probably increase in 2014 
        and beyond. . . . Much of the world will almost certainly turn to the 
        United States for leadership to prevent and respond to mass 
        atrocities.'';
Whereas, despite measures taken by the United States Government and other 
        governments since 1994, the international community still faces the 
        challenges of responding to escalation of violence, atrocities, and 
        religious-based conflict in many corners of the globe, including Syria 
        and the Central African Republic, and a failure of the international 
        community to appropriately respond to and address the rapidly 
        deteriorating situation could result in further atrocities;
Whereas the United Nations Security Council was unable to pass a resolution 
        condemning the Government of Bashar al Assad of Syria for the use of 
        chemical weapons against civilians, killing more than 1,400 of his own 
        people in August 2013; and
Whereas United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recommended to the United 
        Nations Security Council the establishment of a United Nations 
        peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic with the primary 
        mandate to protect civilians: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes the United Nations designation of April 7th 
        as the International Day of Reflection on the Genocide in 
        Rwanda;
            (2) honors the memory of the more than 800,000 victims of 
        the Rwandan genocide and expresses sympathy for those whose 
        lives were forever changed by this horrific event;
            (3) expresses support for the people of Rwanda as they 
        remember the victims of genocide;
            (4) affirms it is in the national interest of the United 
        States to work in close coordination with international 
        partners to prevent and mitigate acts of genocide and mass 
        atrocities;
            (5) condemns ongoing acts of violence and mass atrocities 
        perpetrated against innocent civilians in Syria, the Central 
        African Republic, South Sudan, Sudan and elsewhere;
            (6) urges the President to confer with Congress on an 
        ongoing basis regarding the priorities and objectives of the 
        Atrocities Prevention Board;
            (7) urges the President to work with Congress to strengthen 
        the United States Government's ability to identify and more 
        rapidly respond to genocide and mass atrocities in order to 
        prevent where possible and mitigate the impact of such events; 
        and
            (8) supports ongoing United States and international 
        efforts to--
                    (A) strengthen multilateral peacekeeping 
                capacities;
                    (B) build capacity for democratic rule of law, 
                security sector reform, and other measures to improve 
                civilian protection in areas of conflict;
                    (C) ensure measures of accountability for 
                perpetrators of mass atrocities and crimes against 
                humanity; and
                    (D) strengthen the work of United States and 
                international institutions, such as the Holocaust 
                Memorial Museum, which are working to document, 
                identify, and prevent mass atrocities and inspire 
                citizens and leaders worldwide to confront hatred and 
                prevent genocide.
                                 <all>