[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 118 (Thursday, August 5, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6909-S6910]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




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 SUPPORTING AND ENCOURAGING 
   EFFORTS TO DEVELOP A WHOLE OF GOVERNMENT APPROACH TO PREVENT AND 
                           MITIGATE SUCH ACTS

  Mr. FEINGOLD (for himself and Ms. Collins) submitted the following 
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations:

                            S. Con. Res. 71

       Whereas, in the aftermath of the Holocaust, the 
     international community vowed ``never again'' to allow 
     systematic killings on the basis of nationality, ethnicity, 
     race, or religion;
       Whereas a number of other genocides and mass atrocities 
     have occurred, both prior to and since that time;
       Whereas the United States Government has undertaken many 
     initiatives to ensure that victims of genocide and mass 
     atrocities are not forgotten, and as a leader in the 
     international community, the United States has committed to 
     work with international partners to prevent genocide and mass 
     atrocities and to help protect civilian populations at risk 
     of such;
       Whereas the United Nations General Assembly adopted the 
     Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of 
     Genocide in 1948, which declares genocide, whether committed 
     in a time of peace or in a time of war, a crime under 
     international law, and declares that the parties to the 
     Convention will undertake to prevent and to punish that 
     crime;
       Whereas the United States was the first nation 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 the Act entitled, ``An Act to establish the United 
     States Holocaust Memorial Council'', approved October 7, 1980 
     (Public Law 96-388) established the United States Holocaust 
     Memorial Council to commemorate the Holocaust, establish a 
     memorial museum to the victims, and develop a committee to 
     stimulate worldwide action to prevent or stop future 
     genocides;
       Whereas the passage of the Genocide Convention 
     Implementation Act of 1987 (Public Law 100-606), also known 
     as the Proxmire Act, made genocide a crime under United 
     States law;
       Whereas, in response to lessons learned from Rwanda and 
     Bosnia, President William J. Clinton established a genocide 
     and mass atrocities early warning system by establishing an 
     Atrocities Prevention Interagency

[[Page S6910]]

     Working Group, chaired by an Ambassador-at-Large for War 
     Crimes Issues from 1998 to 2000;
       Whereas, in 2005, the United States and all other members 
     of the United Nations agreed that the international community 
     has ``a responsibility to use appropriate diplomatic, 
     humanitarian and other peaceful means, in accordance with 
     Chapter VI and VIII of the United Nations Charter, to help 
     protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic 
     cleansing and crimes against humanity,'' and to take direct 
     action if national authorities are unwilling or unable to 
     protect their populations;
       Whereas the 2006 National Security Strategy of the United 
     States stated, ``The world needs to start honoring a 
     principle that many believe has lost its force in parts of 
     the international community in recent years: genocide must 
     not be tolerated. It is a moral imperative that states take 
     action to prevent and punish genocide. . . . We must refine 
     United States Government efforts--economic, diplomatic, and 
     law-enforcement--so that they target those individuals 
     responsible for genocide and not the innocent citizens they 
     rule.'';
       Whereas the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the 
     American Academy of Diplomacy, and the United States 
     Institute of Peace convened a Genocide Prevention Task Force, 
     co-chaired by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright 
     and former Secretary of Defense William Cohen, to explore how 
     the United States Government could better respond to threats 
     of genocide and mass atrocities;
       Whereas the final report of the Genocide Prevention Task 
     Force, released in December 2008, concluded that the lack of 
     an overarching policy framework or a standing interagency 
     process, as well as insufficient and uncoordinated 
     institutional capacities, undermines the ability of the 
     United States Government to help prevent genocide or mass 
     killings and offered recommendations for creating a 
     government wide strategy;
       Whereas the former Director of National Intelligence, in 
     his annual threat assessment to Congress in February 2010, 
     highlighted countries at risk of genocide and mass atrocities 
     and stated, ``Within the past 3 years, the Democratic 
     Republic of Congo and Sudan all suffered mass killing 
     episodes through violence starvation, or death in prison 
     camps . . . Looking ahead over the next 5 years, a number of 
     countries in Africa and Asia are at significant risk for a 
     new outbreak of mass killing.'';
       Whereas the Quadrennial Defense Review, released in 
     February 2010, states that the Defense Department should be 
     prepared to provide the President with options for 
     ``preventing human suffering due to mass atrocities or large-
     scale natural disasters abroad'';
       Whereas the 2010 National Security Strategy notes, ``The 
     United States is committed to working with our allies, and to 
     strengthening our own internal capabilities, in order to 
     ensure that the United States and the international community 
     are proactively engaged in a strategic effort to prevent mass 
     atrocities and genocide. In the event that prevention fails, 
     the United States will work both multilaterally and 
     bilaterally to mobilize diplomatic, humanitarian, financial, 
     and--in certain instances--military means to prevent and 
     respond to genocide and mass atrocities.'';
       Whereas genocide and mass atrocities often result from and 
     contribute to instability and conflict, which can cross 
     borders and exacerbate threats to international security and 
     the national security of the United States;
       Whereas the failure to prevent genocide and mass atrocities 
     can lead to significant costs resulting from regional 
     instability, refugee flows, peacekeeping, economic loss, and 
     the challenges of post-conflict reconstruction and 
     reconciliation; and
       Whereas United States leadership and actions toward 
     preventing and mitigating future genocides and mass 
     atrocities can save human lives and help foster beneficial 
     global partnerships: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That the Senate--
       (1) recommits to honor the memory of the victims of the 
     Holocaust as well as the victims of all past genocides and 
     mass atrocities;
       (2) affirms that it is in the national interest and aligned 
     with the values of the United States to work vigorously with 
     international partners to prevent and mitigate future 
     genocides and mass atrocities;
       (3) supports efforts made thus far by the President, the 
     Secretary of State, the Administrator of the United States 
     Agency for International Development, the Secretary of 
     Defense, and the Director of National Intelligence to improve 
     the capacity of the United States Government to anticipate, 
     prevent, and address genocide and mass atrocities, including 
     the establishment of an interagency policy committee and a 
     National Security Council position dedicated to the 
     prevention of genocide and other mass atrocities;
       (4) urges the President--
       (A) to direct relevant departments and agencies of the 
     United States Government to review and evaluate existing 
     capacities for anticipating, preventing, and responding to 
     genocide and other mass atrocities, and to determine specific 
     steps to coordinate and enhance those capacities; and
       (B) to develop and communicate a whole of government 
     approach and policy to anticipate, prevent, and mitigate acts 
     of genocide and other mass atrocities;
       (5) urges the Secretary of State, working closely with the 
     Administrator of the United States Agency for International 
     Development--
       (A) to ensure that all relevant officers of the Foreign 
     Service and particularly those deploying to areas undergoing 
     significant conflict or considered to be at risk of 
     significant conflict, genocide, and other mass atrocities 
     receive appropriate advanced training in early warning and 
     conflict prevention, mitigation, and resolution;
       (B) to determine appropriate leadership, structure, 
     programs, and mechanisms within the Department of State and 
     the United States Agency for International Development that 
     can enhance efforts to prevent genocide and other mass 
     atrocities; and
       (C) to include relevant recommendations for enhancing 
     civilian capacities to help prevent and mitigate genocide and 
     mass atrocities in the upcoming Quadrennial Diplomacy and 
     Development Review;
       (6) urges the Secretary of the Treasury, working in 
     consultation with the Secretary of State, to review how 
     sanctions and other financial tools could be used against 
     state and commercial actors found to be directly supporting 
     or enabling genocides and mass atrocities;
       (7) recognizes the importance of flexible contingency 
     crisis funding to enable United States civilian agencies to 
     respond quickly to help prevent and mitigate crises that 
     could lead to significant armed conflict, genocide, and other 
     mass atrocities;
       (8) urges the Secretary of Defense to conduct an analysis 
     of the doctrine, organization, training, material, 
     leadership, personnel, and facilities required to prevent and 
     respond to genocide and mass atrocities;
       (9) encourages the Secretary of State and Secretary of 
     Defense to work with the relevant congressional committees to 
     ensure that a priority goal of all United States security 
     assistance and training is to support legitimate, accountable 
     security forces committed to upholding the sovereign 
     responsibility to protect civilian populations from violence, 
     especially genocide and other mass atrocities;
       (10) supports efforts by the United States Government to 
     provide logistical, communications, and intelligence support, 
     as appropriate, to assist multilateral diplomatic efforts and 
     peace operations in preventing mass atrocities and protecting 
     civilians;
       (11) calls on other members of the international community 
     to increase their support for multilateral diplomatic efforts 
     and peace operations to more effectively prevent mass 
     atrocities and protect civilians;
       (12) encourages the Secretary of State to work closely with 
     regional and international organizations, the United Nations 
     Special Adviser for the Prevention of Genocide, and civil 
     society experts to develop and expand multilateral mechanisms 
     for early warning, information sharing, and rapid response 
     diplomacy for the prevention of genocide and other mass 
     atrocities; and
       (13) commits to calling attention to areas at risk of 
     genocide and other mass atrocities and ensuring that the 
     United States Government has the tools and resources to 
     enable its efforts to prevent genocide and mass atrocities.

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