Elie Wiesel
The Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act of 2018, a bipartisan proposal introduced last year by U.S. Sens. Todd Young (R-IN) and Thom Tillis (R-NC), on Dec. 12 passed the U.S. Senate by unanimous consent.
“The United States must continue to be a leader in preventing genocide and other human rights violations around the world,” Sen. Tillis said last week. “This bipartisan legislation will strengthen our government’s effectiveness in combating these atrocities, and I hope this legislation is quickly taken up by the House so it can be signed into law.”
S. 1158, sponsored on May 17, 2017 by U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), would help prevent acts of genocide and other human rights crimes that threaten national and international security by empowering the United States government with improved authorities to prevent, mitigate and respond to such crises, according to the text of the bill in the congressional record.
“America’s moral principles and national security interests require us to take proactive steps to prevent acts of genocide and other mass atrocities, and this legislation will help support that important objective,” said Senator Young, who serves on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
S. 1158 is named in honor of Elie Wiesel (1928-2016), a Romanian Jew, World War II Holocaust survivor and internationally renowned author who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986.
“The phrase ‘Never Again’ must be more than just a phrase,” Sen. Young said, referring to the phrase most often associated with the aftermath of the Holocaust.
If enacted, S. 1158 would establish a Mass Atrocities Task Force within the U.S. State Department that would conduct worldwide monitoring and analyzation of atrocities via coordinated work with myriad federal agencies, according to a summary provided by Sen. Young’s office.
Together, the agencies would identify gaps in U.S. policy and consult with non-governmental organizations and other groups around prevention efforts, according to the summary of S. 1158.
Additionally, the proposal would recommend that the Director of National Intelligence include atrocity crime information in its annual report to Congress on U.S. national security threats and would authorize training for U.S. Foreign Service Officers in recognizing and reporting early signs of atrocities.
Sen. Young said he was proud to work with Sen. Cardin on the bill, which has 32 other cosponsors joining Sens. Young and Tillis, including U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME).
“America’s strength around the world is rooted in our values,” Sen. Cardin said. “It is in our national interest to ensure that the United States utilizes the full arsenal of diplomatic, economic and legal tools to take meaningful action before atrocities occur.”
Sara Bloomfield, director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, applauded the senators’ work on the bill, which she said takes “practical steps to mitigate the systematic persecution of vulnerable groups.”
“As Quakers, we seek to address the underlying conditions that lead to violence and hate, and this bill does just that,” added Diane Randall, executive secretary for the Friends Committee on National Legislation, a public interest lobbying group.
S. 1158 now heads to the U.S. House of Representatives for consideration.