On August 5, 2010 Senators Collins (R-ME) and Feingold (D-WI) introduced a concurrent resolution to support genocide and mass atrocity prevention through the U.S government. Operation Broken Silence, along with many other anti-genocide groups, heavily supports this resolution.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 71 calls for United States leadership and actions towards preventing future genocides, and the U.S national interest in:

“supporting and encouraging efforts to develop a whole of government approach to prevent and mitigate such acts.”

Senate Concurrent Resolution 71 serves to further recommendations made by the Genocide Prevention Task Force Report, which outlined 34 policy recommendations for the U.S. to improve its response to genocide and mass atrocities.

The growing need for eventual full Senate support of this Resolution, and eventually a bill comes at an increasingly dangerous time for millions around the globe. Nations such as Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Burma are already hosts to mass atrocities, while other nations such as Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Kenya, and many more are directly threatened by mass atrocities or have a very recent history of them.

The mass security vacuum created by genocide, mass atrocities, and mass human rights violations carries obvious consequences for those directly affected in the areas of concern. However, the consequences of these crimes remain far-reaching into virtually every corner of the globe, INCLUDING the United States. Because of this, the Resolution addresses the following:

Recognizes that preventing genocide is in the national interest of the United States;

Recognizes the importance of employing a whole of government approach and working with international partners to most effectively prevent genocide;

Urges the review and evaluation of existing U.S. capacities for anticipating, preventing, and responding to genocide and other mass atrocities, and to determine specific steps to coordinate and enhance those capacities;

Underscores the need to train foreign service officers in early warning and conflict prevention, mitigation and resolution;

Urges a review of sanctions and other financial measures that can be used against state and commercial actors found to be directly supporting or enabling genocide;

and recognizes the need for flexible contingency crisis funding.