Preventing genocide and mass atrocities advances U.S. national security interests, saves taxpayer dollars, and saves lives. As Syria demonstrates, the outbreak of atrocities leads to significant consequences, feeding into the possibility for repeated cycles of violence. The outbreak of such violence also undermines American leadership, values, and economic interests.
The Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act (S.1158, H.R.3030) helps to ensure the U.S. government has the most constructive and cost-effective tools to address the root causes and drivers of violent conflict.
Preventing Mass Atrocities
Civil Society Recommendations on Implementation of the Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocity Prevention Act
About the Bill
The bill requires training for Foreign Service Officers in violent conflict and atrocities prevention and mandates reporting from both the Department of State and Director for National Intelligence on U.S. government efforts to prevent and respond to atrocities. These are critical tools that are needed to ensure the U.S. government is able to more effectively prevent atrocities and genocide.
Read and download the bill summary.
Resources
Endorsements
- Statement of Support from 72 Organizations
- U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops - Senate letter
- U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops - House letter
- Ambassadors at Large for War Crimes Issues
- Former Congressman Frank Wolf’s letter to chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee
- Former Congressman Frank Wolf’s letter to chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Support Materials
- Five Reasons the Senate Should Support the Elie Wiesel Act
- FCNL’s Press Statement
- Combined: Bill Summary and 5 Reasons to Support
- Informational Webinar
Senate Press Releases
House Press Releases
Genocide and Atrocities Prevention in the News
- Preventing Genocide Shouldn’t Be a Partisan Issue in The Hill
- Prevent Mass Atrocities and Genocide with Real Action in the Stanley Foundation’s Courier with Allyson Neville
- Conflict Prevention and Resolution Forum at John Hopkins SAIS with Allyson Neville
- More Violence Won’t Fix What Ails Brussels in U.S. News and World Report by Allyson Neville
- An Ounce of Prevention: How We Can Stop the Next Genocide in The Huffington Post
- Terrorism or genocide? We should be fighting both. in The Washington Post
