Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel. (202) 775-1918
Fax. (202) 775-5648
[email protected]
Internet
PRESS RELEASE
December 22, 2007
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918
ANCA and SAVE DARFUR COALITION URGE PRES. BUSH
TO SIGN SUDAN DIVESTMENT BILL
— Genocide Accountability Act Becomes Law
WASHINGTON, DC – The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
joined with the Save Darfur Coalition and a range of faith-based
organizations yesterday in urging President Bush to sign the Sudan
Accountability and Divestment Act into law. The legislation,
adopted unanimously by the House and Senate despite opposition from
the Departments of State and Justice, would allow states and
localities to divest from companies involved in certain Sudanese
business sectors and allow mutual fund and private pension managers
to cut ties with those same companies.
In a December 21st letter to President Bush, signed by over thirty
groups including the American Jewish World Service, Genocide
Intervention Network, Jewish World Watch, National Council of
Churches, and the U.S.-Armenia Public Affairs Committee (USAPAC),
organizations noted that "signing of the bill, supportive public
statements issued along with the signing, the vigorous
implementation of this bill, and additional pressure on Sudan to
end the violence are all necessary ingredients of a comprehensive
US policy — and will send a message to the Government of Sudan
that there are serious consequences for its ruthless violations of
international law."
Last week, upon Senate adoption of the measure, bill author, Sen.
Chris Dodd (D-CT) noted that "this legislation empowers Americans
to exercise their rights as investors, taxpayers, and pensioners to
divest from businesses directly contributing to the violence and
misery of hundreds of thousands of innocent Darfuris." House
Darfur legislation champion Barbara Lee (D-CA), who had introduced
earlier Sudan divestment legislation prominently included in this
bill, explained "Let’s stop the rhetoric and do something, do
something now that we have declared for 3 years genocide taking
place. We need to put the United States on the right side of
history. Divestment worked in South Africa when our former
colleague and my mayor now, Ron Dellums, when he led the effort in
the 1980s. It can work now in Sudan. So I urge the President to
join us in saying to the Government of Khartoum not on our watch,
not on our dime."
The call coincided with the President’s signing of separate
legislation allowing U.S. courts to prosecute non-U.S. nationals
residing in the U.S. who have been complicit in perpetration of
genocide. Bill author, Senate Assistant Majority Leader Dick
Durbin (D-IL), explained the importance of the legislation.
"There is no safe haven for the hundreds of thousands of Sudanese
who have faced genocide in Darfur and yet without this law, our
country could become a safe haven for their killers. Today’s
action by the President makes it crystal clear: the legal loophole
in our law is closed and perpetrators of genocide who come to our
country will now face significant consequences."
The ANCA has, since its introduction, supported the adoption of
this legislation and worked to support its passage by the House as
part of a coalition that includes the Save Darfur Coalition,
Genocide Intervention Network, American Jewish World Service,
Armenian Assembly of America, Human Rights First, Human Rights
Watch, Alliance for Justice, and Refugees International. In a
March letter to members of the Senate, the coalition stressed that,
"The United States must not remain passive when those suspected of
genocide enter or are found in its territory. By eliminating
barriers to prosecution, the Genocide Accountability Act will
ensure that perpetrators of genocide do not evade accountability
when they are found in the United States. We welcome its
introduction and strongly urge its enactment into law."
Sen. Durbin’s legislation is the first bill from the newly
established Senate Subcommittee on Human Rights and Law to become
law. Sen. Durbin and Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) are lead sponsors of
the Armenian Genocide Resolution (S.Res.106) which currently has
over 30 cosponsors.