HOUSE PASSES THE GENOCIDE ACCOUNTABILITY ACT

armradio.am
07.12.2007 10:21

The Armenian Assembly of America welcomed the passage of the Genocide
Accountability Act (S. 888) as a crucial step forward in closing a
legal loophole that prevents the Justice Department from punishing
perpetrators of genocide who find safe haven in the United States.

The vote in the House of Representatives allows non-US nationals who
have entered the United States to be prosecuted for genocide committed
outside the country. Under current law, genocide is only a crime if
it is committed within the United States or by a US national outside
of the country.

Conversely, laws regarding torture, material support for terrorism,
terrorism financing, hostage taking and other federal crimes allow
for extraterritorial jurisdiction for crimes committed outside of
the United States by non-US nationals.

"The Genocide Accountability Act is an effort to ensure that our
United States’ laws provide adequate authority to prosecute acts
of genocide," said Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), chairman of the House
Judiciary Committee. "We should not have a situation where perpetrators
of genocide are allowed to enter, or reside in the United States and
use this country as a safe haven from prosecution."

"This cannot be the last step," Conyers added. "If we’re going to
fulfill our role in the world as the beacon for basic human rights
and freedom from persecution we must continue to develop the humble
legislative beginning we have begun today."

"We are proud to have supported this legislation through the process
and concur with Chairman Conyers that this is not the last step,"
said Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny. "The next critical
step is to confront denial of genocide by approving H. Res. 106,
which reaffirms the US record on the Armenian Genocide."

Representative Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) said the 20th century has been
called "the Age of Genocide," adding that the genocides in Rwanda,
the former Yugoslavia, Cambodia, Germany, and the Ottoman Empire
have shown the world "the monstrous potential of totalitarian regimes
determined to annihilate entire ethnic, racial and religious groups."

Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA), who introduced the House version (H.R. 2489)
of the Genocide Accountability Act, said that the purpose of the
measure is to ensure that the perpetrators of genocide are accountable
under U.S. law.

"S. 888 will strengthen the reach of U.S. laws to prosecute any
individuals found in our country, who have taken part in acts of
genocide, in Darfur or anywhere else," Berman said.

"Genocide continues to be a threat in the world and we should attack it
wherever we find it," said Congressman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA).

Others who spoke in favor of S. 888 on the House floor yesterday
included Representatives Stephen Cohen (D-TN), Randy Forbes (R-VA),
Mike Pence (R-IN) and Christopher Shays (R-CT).

The Senate bill, introduced by Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and
Tom Coburn (R-OK), is the first piece of legislation produced by the
Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law. In February,
the Assembly called on Congress to strengthen international legal
protection against genocide and its denial in testimony submitted
for the Subcommittee’s hearing on "Genocide and the Rule of Law."

Ardouny also commended Durbin, along with Senator John Ensign (R-NV),
for spearheading legislation in the U.S. Senate (S. Res. 106) that
would reaffirm the historical fact of the Armenian Genocide.

In addition to the Assembly, the Genocide Accountability Act has
been endorsed by numerous organizations including African Action, the
American Jewish World Service, Amnesty International USA, the Armenian
National Committee of America, the Genocide Intervention Network,
Human Rights First, Human Rights Watch, Physicians for Human Rights,
Refugees International and the Save Darfur Coalition.