On the evening of Wednesday, April 30, 2018, Rep. Ann Wagner (MO-2) led a special order on the House floor to commemorate Genocide Awareness and Prevention Month. Rep Wagner also voiced her support for the Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act (H.R.3030) as a bipartisan solution to help prevent future acts of horrific violence. We are grateful to Rep. Wagner for her leadership in pushing Congress to prevent genocide and mass atrocities.
Representatives Jim McGovern (D-MA), Claudia Tenney (R-NY), and Steve Chabot (R-OH) joined Rep. Wagner and spoke in support of preventing mass atrocities and genocide.This was a powerful bipartisan moment on the House floor, during which members of Congress highlighted the importance of preventing atrocities and why they care about this issue. Representative Wagner, in her opening remarks, spoke about the Bosnian American community in St. Louis.
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Here is an excerpt from her powerful speech:
“My hometown, Saint Louis, is home to the largest Bosnian community outside Bosnia and Herzegovina. This community has shaped what the city looks and feels like; it has added great cultural diversity to the city, immense intellectual capital, thriving small businesses, and a strong religious presence.
“Two decades ago, members of our Bosnian community were refugees. In 1995, Orthodox Serbs under the command of General Ratko Mladić initiated a horrific ethnic cleansing campaign against majority-Muslim Bosniaks. The escalating bloodshed forced 130,000 Bosnian refugees to seek new lives in the United States. Thousands more were murdered in Srebrenica.
“As Mr. Wiesel understood so well, the true horror of genocide is that it is preventable. And the U.S. government has the tools to effect real change.
“The Elie Wiesel Act would affirm the mission of the United States Atrocities Prevention Board and its work to coordinate prevention and response efforts. It would also authorize the Complex Crises Fund to support agile, efficient responses to unforeseen crises overseas.
“This time, when America says, “Never Again,” our actions will reinforce our platitudes.”
