III 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 413 

Recognizing 20 years since the genocide in Rwanda, and affirming it is 

in the national interest of the United States to work in close coordination 

with international partners to help prevent and mitigate acts of genocide 

and mass atrocities. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 7, 2014 

Mr. COONS (for himself, Mr. MENENDEZ, and Mr. FLAKE) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing 20 years since the genocide in Rwanda, and 

affirming it is in the national interest of the United 

States to work in close coordination with international 

partners to help prevent and mitigate acts of genocide 

and mass atrocities. 

Whereas, in the aftermath of the Holocaust, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the 

Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide declaring that genocide, whether committed in a time of 

peace or war, is a crime under international law; 

Whereas the United States was the first country to sign the 

Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the 

Crime of Genocide, and the Senate voted to ratify the 


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Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the 

Crime of Genocide on February 11, 1986; 

Whereas, for approximately 100 days between April 7, 1994, 

and July 1994, more than 800,000 civilians were killed 

in a genocide in Rwanda that targeted members of the 

Tutsi, moderate Hutu, and Twa populations, resulting in 

the horrific deaths of nearly 70 percent of the Tutsi population living in Rwanda; 

Whereas the massacres of innocent Rwandan civilians were 

premeditated and systematic attempts to eliminate the 

Tutsi population by Hutu extremists, fueled by hatred 

and incitement propagated by newspapers and radio; 

Whereas, in addition to systematic targeting of an ethnic minority in Rwanda resulting in the mass slaughter of innocent civilians, rape was also used as a weapon of war; 

Whereas, despite the deployment of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) in October 1993 

following the end of the Rwandan Civil War, its mandate 

was insufficient to ensure the protection of large swathes 

of the population, demonstrating the inability of the 

United Nations to effectively respond to the unfolding 

genocide and stop or mitigate its impact; 

Whereas, on July 4, 1994, the Rwandan Patriotic Front, a 

trained military group consisting of formerly exiled 

Tutsis, began its takeover of the country, which resulted 

in an ending of the genocide, though not a complete end 

to the violence, including retribution; 

Whereas, in October 1994, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) was established as the first 

international tribunal with the mandate to prosecute the 

crime of genocide and ultimately prosecuted 63 individVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:32 Apr 08, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR413.IS SR413

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uals for war crimes, including genocide and crimes 

against humanity as well as the first convictions for rape 

as a weapon of war; 

Whereas the United States Government supports initiatives 

to ensure that victims of genocide and mass atrocities are 

not forgotten, and has committed to work with international partners to help prevent genocide and mass 

atrocities and identify and support a range of actions to 

protect civilian populations at risk; 

Whereas, in July 2004, the Senate adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution 133 and the House of Representatives 

adopted House Concurrent Resolution 467, declaring that 

‘‘the atrocities unfolding in Darfur, Sudan, are genocide’’, and calling on the United States Government and 

the international community to take measures to address 

the situation immediately; 

Whereas, in September 2004, the United States Government, 

in testimony by Secretary of State Colin Powell before 

the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, declared the ongoing conflict in Darfur, Sudan, a ‘‘genocide’’ perpetrated by the government based in Khartoum 

against its own people and affecting over 2,400,000 people in Sudan, including an estimated 200,000 fatalities; 

Whereas, in September 2005, the United States joined other 

members of the United Nations in adopting United Nations General Assembly Resolution 60/1, which affirmed 

that the international community has a responsibility to 

use appropriate diplomatic, humanitarian and other 

peaceful means, in accordance with Chapter VI (Military 

enforcement) and VIII (Regional Arrangements) of the 

United Nations Charter, to help protect populations from 


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genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes 

against humanity; 

Whereas, in December 2011, the Senate unanimously passed 

Senate Concurrent Resolution 71, recognizing the United 

States national interest in helping to prevent and mitigate acts of genocide and other mass atrocities against 

civilians, and urging the development of a whole of government approach to prevent and mitigate such acts; 

Whereas, in April 2012, President Barack Obama established 

the Atrocities Prevention Board within the United States 

inter-agency structure, chaired by National Security 

staff, to help identify and more effectively address atrocity threats, including genocide, as a core national security 

interest and core moral responsibility; 

Whereas, in July 2013, the National Intelligence Council 

completed the first ever National Intelligence Estimate 

on the global risk for mass atrocities and genocide; 

Whereas, in January 2014, the National Director of Intelligence testified before the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate, stating that ‘‘the overall risk of 

mass atrocities worldwide will probably increase in 2014 

and beyond. . . . Much of the world will almost certainly 

turn to the United States for leadership to prevent and 

respond to mass atrocities.’’; 

Whereas, despite measures taken by the United States Government and other governments since 1994, the international community still faces the challenges of responding to escalation of violence, atrocities, and religiousbased conflict in many corners of the globe, including 

Syria and the Central African Republic, and a failure of 

the international community to appropriately respond to 


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and address the rapidly deteriorating situation could result in further atrocities; 

Whereas the United Nations Security Council was unable to 

pass a resolution condemning the Government of Bashar 

al Assad of Syria for the use of chemical weapons against 

civilians, killing more than 1,400 of his own people in 

August 2013; and 

Whereas United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recommended to the United Nations Security Council the establishment of a United Nations peacekeeping mission in 

the Central African Republic with the primary mandate 

to protect civilians: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) recognizes the United Nations designation 

3 of April 7th as the International Day of Reflection 

4 on the Genocide in Rwanda; 

5 (2) honors the memory of the more than 

6 800,000 victims of the Rwandan genocide and ex7 presses sympathy for those whose lives were forever 

8 changed by this horrific event; 

9 (3) expresses support for the people of Rwanda 

10 as they remember the victims of genocide; 

11 (4) affirms it is in the national interest of the 

12 United States to work in close coordination with 

13 international partners to prevent and mitigate acts 

14 of genocide and mass atrocities; 

15 (5) condemns ongoing acts of violence and mass 

16 atrocities perpetrated against innocent civilians in 


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1 Syria, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, 

2 Sudan and elsewhere; 

3 (6) urges the President to confer with Congress 

4 on an ongoing basis regarding the priorities and ob5 jectives of the Atrocities Prevention Board; 

6 (7) urges the President to work with Congress 

7 to strengthen the United States Government’s ability 

8 to identify and more rapidly respond to genocide and 

9 mass atrocities in order to prevent where possible 

10 and mitigate the impact of such events; and 

11 (8) supports ongoing United States and inter12 national efforts to— 

13 (A) strengthen multilateral peacekeeping 

14 capacities; 

15 (B) build capacity for democratic rule of 

16 law, security sector reform, and other measures 

17 to improve civilian protection in areas of con18 flict; 

19 (C) ensure measures of accountability for 

20 perpetrators of mass atrocities and crimes 

21 against humanity; and 

22 (D) strengthen the work of United States 

23 and international institutions, such as the Holo24 caust Memorial Museum, which are working to 

25 document, identify, and prevent mass atrocities 


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1 and inspire citizens and leaders worldwide to 

2 confront hatred and prevent genocide. 

Æ 


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