Twenty five years ago, on February 19, 1986, the US Senate ratified the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. But this ratification was not easily accomplished. Nor was it a foregone conclusion.
“We know the unthinkable is thinkable. What do we do with that knowledge?” Sara Bloomfield, director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, asked an audience of human rights experts, conflict prevention specialists, and senior diplomats representing more than 20 governments. The group gathered in Paris on Monday to discuss how members of the international community could work together to prevent genocide and mass atrocities.
Today, August 19, marks World Humanitarian Day, a time to honor those who have worked in dedicated life-saving service for displaced people and refugees around the globe. Often the first responders in crises, humanitarian aid workers not only deliver supplies and provide critical medical treatment, but they also become eyewitnesses to history.
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum yesterday characterized the decision by the International Criminal Court to include three counts of genocide in a new arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir as an important step towards holding leaders accountable for such egregious crimes.
In commemoration of the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Nazi concentration camps, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum designated Stories of Freedom: What You Do Matters as the theme for Days of Remembrance 2010. Among the events the Museum held was an interview by Michael Abramowitz, Director of the Committee on Conscience at the Museum, with General Roméo Dallaire, former commander of the UN peacekeeping force in Rwanda during the genocide in 1994. General Dallaire spoke about his experiences in Rwanda 16 years ago and the importance of increasing the will and capacity in government to respond to genocide today.
In commemoration of the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Nazi concentration camps, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum designated Stories of Freedom: What You Do Matters as the theme for Days of Remembrance 2010. Among the events the Museum held was an interview conducted by Sara Bloomfield, Director of the Museum, with Assistant Secretary of State Mike Posner. Posner addressed the challenges of fighting anti-Semitism and responding to genocide today. Assistant Secretary Posner complimented the work of the Genocide Prevention Task Force, which the Museum helped convene, and discussed progress that the Obama Administration has made in implementing the recommendations of the Task Force report.
In Foreign Policy, Mike Abramowitz, the Director of the Committee on Conscience at the Museum, and Lawrence Woocher, senior program officer at USIP, discuss the significance of intelligence chief Dennis Blair's testimony to the Senate and his emphasis on the risks facing Southern Sudan.
On December 10, the Museum hosted a special program with U.S. Permanent Representative to the UN Susan Rice. Michael Abramowitz, Director of the Museum’s Committee on Conscience, interviewed Ambassador Rice, discussing her work at the UN and her experiences working on issues of genocide and mass atrocities.
Last night in a special program at the Museum, Ambassador Susan Rice, the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, made clear that the U.S. government has adopted benchmarks by which it will measure whether Sudan is making progress in meeting humanitarian and other obligations -- and they will be assessed quarterly. There has been some ambiguity about whether such benchmarks existed. The benchmarks are very specific and have been agreed on by "the highest officials, including the President of the United States, and by us at the principals level," Rice said. The status quo in Sudan, Rice insisted, was inherently unacceptable. Asked whether there had been consequences for the perpetrators in Darfur, Rice replied, "Not enough."
Find information on historical cases of genocide and other atrocities.