The Creation of Political Will to STOP Genocide

While institutions are fundamental to stopping genocide, they are not sufficient. The key factor missing is the political will to end genocide forever through early and assertive action to prevent crisis situations from becoming violent in the first place. The US and other industrialized northern countries must support not only the United Nations reforms but must be willing to commit to multilateral actions to stop genocide in its tracks. President Clinton and President Bush re-defined AIDS as a threat to national security; why is there no similar recognition that genocide is a threat to the United States' national security?

Decision-makers and the public need to be educated about genocide and convinced that genocide can be predicted, prevented, and stopped. While U.S. political leaders claim that the public will not support multilateral intervention to prevent or end genocide, studies of public opinion reveal otherwise. When the links are drawn between strong international institutions and mass human rights violations, Americans overwhelmingly support strengthening and empowering international institutions. 

+ MORE on U.S. public opinion in favor of multilateral responses to genocide

Unfortunately, this public support is not translated into policy at the US national level. Congress has consistently cut funding for the United Nations and peacekeeping. The US government was one of only seven nations, including Iraq, Libya and China, to vote against the Rome Statute for the ICC. And, worst of all, the United States actively lobbied at the UN against the reinforcement of the UN peacekeeping mission in Rwanda in 1994, even when it was clear that a genocide was occurring.

TAKE ACTION to show your leaders that you support effective, timely and multilateral responses to genocide.