Bipartisan Senate Letter on Mass Atrocities Prevention

By Mary Stata on 11/22/2011 @ 01:00 PM

Tags: Peaceful Prevention

Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and Susan Collins (R-ME) are circulating a letter to President Obama urging the administration to develop the necessary tools to successfully avert mass atrocities and prevent the conditions that can lead to violence against civilians. Nearly 90 of FCNL’s grassroots activists climbed the ladder of engagement earlier this month by participating in Annual Meeting Lobby Day. These lobby day participants met with their Senate offices to urge support for this important letter. Since these meetings, over twenty Senators have endorsed the letter.

Urge Your Senator to Sign On

Senators Coons and Collins’ letter will be open for additional signatures until November 29, and all members of the Senate are welcome to join. So far, the following Senators have joined: Bennet, Blumenthal, Blunt, Boxer, Sherrod Brown, Cardin, Casey, Coons, Collins, Durbin, Feinstein, Kirk, Klobuchar, Lautenburg, Levin, Lieberman, Menendez, Merkley, Murkowski, Murray, Snowe, Tom Udall, and Wyden.

About the Letter

The letter reiterates the principles of S. Con. Res. 71 which passed unanimously in the 111th Congress urging the administration to conduct an interagency review evaluating existing capacities for anticipating, preventing, and responding to genocide and other mass atrocities. It welcomes the recently released Presidential Study Directive (PSD) 10, which created an Atrocities Prevention Board and stated that preventing genocide and mass atrocities is in America’s national interest. Finally, the letter urges the administration to establish coordinating mechanisms between Congress and the board, and consider a whole government approach to atrocities prevention.

Congressional support of the administration's initiative is vital to ensure lasting policy change.

Take action: If your Senator has not signed the letter, please urge them to join before November 29.