Bipartisan legislation co-sponsored by U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) on Friday would take steps to ensure that the government uses diplomatic, financial and intelligence tools to prevent mass atrocities against civilians.
Tillis and Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, introduced the Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act. Among other steps, the bill would establish an Atrocity Prevention Board to promote interagency coordination to prevent and respond to atrocities.
“America has been the defender and hope for persecuted peoples across the globe,” Tillis said. “It is a trait that has defined our nation as unique in the history of the world. The rise of terrorist cults like ISIL and al-Shabaab that are committing genocide against minority ethnic and religious groups has created a desperate need for American leadership and moral clarity. I’m honored to join my colleagues in a bipartisan effort to enhance our nation’s ability to detect the early warning signs of atrocities, which can ultimately help protect at-risk groups and save innocent lives.”
Under the bill, a “complex crises fund” would be established to support emergency response efforts in response to emerging or unexpected international crises. The administrator of the United States Agency International Development (USAID) would oversee the fund.
“Over 70 years after the Holocaust, the United States still lacks a comprehensive framework to prevent and respond to mass atrocities and genocide,” Cardin said. “In recent years, we have seen groups like ISIL systematically targeting communities on the basis of their ethnicity or religious beliefs and practices, including Yezidi, Christian and Turkmen populations. In the Middle East and elsewhere, the United States must do better at identifying and quickly responding to early warning signs of possible mass atrocities. The Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act of 2016 will ensure that the U.S. has the capacity to do just that.”
The bill would require training to help State Department and USAID officials identify early warning signs of atrocities and conflict escalation. The director of national intelligence would also be encouraged to brief Congress on threats to national security and regions at risk for mass atrocities in his or her annual testimony.
Thirteen senators have co-sponsored the Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act. Twenty-six groups that promote human rights and the prevention of atrocities have also supported the bill.