Friday, December 26, 2008

Monday, December 8, 2008

Genocide Prevention Task Force Report

SAVE DARFUR APPLAUDS GENOCIDE PREVENTION TASK FORCE REPORT

Fowler: The 'constituency of conscience' will demand White House,
congressional leadership to end Darfur genocide and prevent the next
Darfur from occurring.



WASHINGTON-Jerry Fowler, president of the Save Darfur Coalition, today
applauded the report issued by the Genocide Prevention Task Force
outlining critical steps to prevent future genocide and mass atrocities
around the world. The Task Force was a joint initiative of the U.S.
Holocaust Memorial Museum, the American Academy of Diplomacy and the
U.S. Institute of Peace.



Fowler, a human rights lawyer and former staff director of the
Holocaust Museum's Committee on Conscience, said a broader
"constituency of conscience" has been mobilized to ensure future
genocide and mass atrocities are averted. He said this constituency has
been the driving force behind the Darfur movement - but will also
demand presidential and congressional leadership to avoid the next
Darfur.



"As an organization committed to ending the first genocide of the 21st
century, the Save Darfur Coalition applauds the conclusions of the
Genocide Prevention Task Force and supports the imperative goal of
preventing genocide," Fowler said.



"To prevent and respond effectively to future genocide and mass
atrocities, two things are necessary: a government that is better
equipped to recognize and respond to these horrific situations as they
develop and a politically salient constituency of conscience that
demands action.



"The Task Force report outlines concrete steps that, if taken, will
move toward achieving the first goal of improving the U.S. government's
ability to recognize and respond to impending threats of mass murder.
And essential to taking those steps and making them real, as
Secretaries Cohen and Albright recently wrote, is leadership,
especially from the White House and Congress.



"We can also be optimistic that the American people will do their
part. The mass movement that has responded to genocide in Darfur shows
that there is a constituency of conscience of people from all walks of
life, all ages, and all political, religious and ethnic backgrounds
that will raise its voice in response to mass atrocities.



"While Darfur has been this constituency's primary focus during the
past five years - it hasn't been its only focus. And moving forward,
this movement will demand presidential and congressional leadership to
end the Darfur genocide and prevent the next Darfur from occurring."


- Read the Full Report
- Read the Executive Summary -