WASHINGTON – In a letter sent Friday to President Obama, a bipartisan group of 29 senators led by Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) expressed support for developing the necessary tools to successfully avert mass atrocities and prevent conditions that can lead to violence against innocent civilians.  The letter welcomed recent steps taken by the Obama Administration on the issue, and urged the Administration to work closely with Congress to improve the United States’ ability to anticipate, prevent, and respond to genocide and other mass atrocities around the world.

The letter reiterated the provisions of Senate Concurrent Resolution 71, which passed unanimously last year, recognizing that it is in the United States' national interest to prevent and mitigate acts of genocide and other mass atrocitiesagainst civilians.  It also expressed appreciation for recent steps taken by the Obama Administration to develop a whole-of-government approach to prevent such actions including the Presidential Study Directive 10 (PSD-10), the creation of a National Security Staff Director focused on the prevention of war crimes and atrocities, the creation of an Atrocities Prevention Board, and the mandate for an interagency study to inform the work of the Board. 

“As Members of the Senate committed to the protection of human rights, we believe the prevention of genocide and mass atrocities should continue to be a priority of U.S. foreign policy,” the senators wrote. “In order to fulfill the promise to stop genocide, we must develop the necessary tools to successfully avert mass atrocities and prevent the conditions that can lead to violence against innocent civilians.”

“We are particularly interested in establishing coordinating mechanisms between Congress and the Atrocities Prevention Board and working with your Administration to consider a whole-of-government approach to atrocities prevention.  We stand ready to partner with you in the Senate to continue to improve U.S. capacity to anticipate, prevent, and respond to genocide and other mass atrocities.”


Signers include Senators Coons and Collins, Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Michael Bennet (D-Col.), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), Frank Lautenburg (D-N.J.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Carl Levin (D-Mich.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Mark Begich (D-Alaska), and Scott Brown (R-Mass.).

The text of the letter is below:

December 1, 2011

President Barack Obama

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

As Members of the Senate committed to the protection of human rights, we believe the prevention of genocide and mass atrocities should continue to be a priority of U.S. foreign policy.  In order to fulfill the promise tostop genocide, we must develop the necessary tools to successfully avert mass atrocities and prevent the conditions that can lead to violence against innocent civilians. 

Last year, the Senate unanimously voted to pass S. Con. Res. 71, a bipartisan resolution recognizing that it is in the U.S. national interest to prevent and mitigate acts of genocide and other mass atrocities against civilians.  It encouraged efforts to develop a whole-of-government approach to prevent and mitigate such acts, and it urged your Administration to conduct an interagency review to evaluate existing capacities for anticipating, preventing, and responding to genocide and other mass atrocities.

We appreciate your leadership on this matter of shared concern, and we welcome the recently released Presidential Study Directive 10 (PSD-10), which reflects several of the recommendations outlined in S. Con. Res. 71.  Both S. Con. Res. 71 and PSD-10 clearly state that preventing genocide and mass atrocities is in America’s national interest and aligned with our values.   As a result, the United States should improve its abilities to help avert such human tragedies and to determine specific steps to coordinate and enhance those capacities.   

The recent establishment of a National Security Staff Director focused on the prevention of war crimes and atrocities, the creation of an Atrocities Prevention Board, and the mandate for an interagency study to inform the work of the Board all represent important steps in that direction.  It is our hope that, through the coordination of a whole-of-government approach to preventing mass atrocities and genocide, the Board will improve U.S. capacity for responding to warning signs of impending violence against civilians. 

We look forward to hearing from you on the next steps your administration is taking to implement the recommendations put forward in S.Con. Res. 71 and PSD-10.  We are particularly interested in establishing coordinating mechanisms between Congress and the Atrocities Prevention Board and working with your Administration to consider a whole-of-government approach to atrocities prevention.  We stand ready to partner with you in the Senate to continue to improve U.S. capacity to anticipate, prevent, and respond to genocide and other mass atrocities.

Sincerely,

###