“Never Again! was the cry from citizens around the world after the Holocaust. Yet tragically, millions of people have been murdered, disappeared, lost their families, and forced to flee their homes in order to escape torture and persecution in countries such as Syria, DR Congo, Cambodia, Somalia, Bosnia, Rwanda, Sudan, and Ukraine.
Genocide is not a sudden act. It must be planned, to detailed degree and is the result of a long-term and deliberate process. But with prevention intervention, and diplomacy, genocide can be stopped before mass killing ever begins. However, once the extermination stage begins, only military intervention can stop genocide.
There are many steps that can be taken to prevent genocide from happening. The international community, including national governments and organizations, and the United Nations, have the resources to intervene militarily and implement prevention. Unfortunately, most governments will not commit resources for civilian protection in countries where they are not stakeholders.
Prevention measures may include:
– Protests in the at-risk country increase publicity of the intent to carry out the genocide.
– Initiation of legal proceedings against government intention.
– Identification of websites for hate propaganda against at-risk populations.
Act and Speak Up
Preventing mass atrocities requires global action: by speaking up and demanding that our leaders act on their Responsibility to Protect innocent men, women, and children from brutal and repressive regimes that use state terrorism against their citizens. Working together, we can prevent mass atrocities and we can end genocide.
Stop Giving Aid and Support to Perpetrators
Without aid and support from big corporations and other governments, the perpetrators of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity, cannot succeed. By standing firm together and acting, we can bring global public shame to these companies and countries, and demand that they stop financing mass violence. We call to question any nation that welcomes or rewards perpetrators of atrocity crimes.
Global Human Rights and Genocide Prevention
In April 2012, President Barack Obama announced during an address at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., the creation of the Atrocities Prevention Board, an initiative that would make the deterrence of genocide and mass atrocities “a core national security interest and core moral responsibility.” The Atrocities Prevention Board will provide options for the U.S. to respond to ongoing atrocities in places such as Sudan, Somalia, and Syria. The APB will help to recognize the warning signs and to work to prevent genocide and mass atrocities.