Genocide Prevention Task Force
Genocide Prevention Task Force Co-Chairs Honored at Holocaust Museum
April 23, 2009
As part of Holocaust Remembrance week, former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright and former Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen were honored at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum on April 22 for their work on genocide prevention.
Secretaries Albright and Cohen co-chaired the Genocide Prevention Task Force, jointly convened by USIP, the Holocaust Museum and the American Academy of Diplomacy, which released its report in December 2008.
Earlier in the week, former President Bill Clinton, speaking at the new Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center, referred to the Genocide Prevention Task Force report:
"We are now more than a half century past the Holocaust, living in history’s most interdependent age, in which divorcing ourselves from the problems of other people is neither moral nor a practical option…As my two former cabinet secretaries, Madeleine Albright and Bill Cohen, wrote in their recently released Genocide Prevention Task Force report, 'We must honor the memory of past victims by encouraging future action. Preventing genocide is possible and striving to do so is imperative.'"
January 15, 2009 | Press Release
As the nation approaches the swearing in of America’s 44th president, and as the 114th Congress gets underway, a group of bipartisan leaders joins the Genocide Prevention Task Force’s call for the new administration and congressional leaders to make preventing genocide and mass atrocities a national priority.
The Genocide Prevention Task Force, co-chaired by former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright and former Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen, was jointly convened by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, The American Academy of Diplomacy and the United States Institute of Peace. Its recently released report, Preventing Genocide: A Blueprint for U.S. Policymakers, offers practical recommendations on how to prevent genocide and mass atrocities.
“We are keenly aware that the incoming president’s agenda will be daunting from Day One. But preventing genocide and mass atrocities is not an idealistic addition to our core foreign policy agenda. It is a moral and strategic imperative,” said Secretaries Albright and Cohen.
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About the Task Force
The Genocide Prevention Task Force was launched on November 13, 2007 and released its report to the public on December 8, 2008. It was jointly convened by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, The American Academy of Diplomacy, and the U.S. Institute of Peace. It was funded by private foundations. Its goals were: (1) To spotlight genocide prevention as a national priority; and; (2) To develop practical policy recommendations to enhance the capacity of the U.S. government to respond to emerging threats of genocide and mass atrocities.
December 8, 2008 | Report
The report, which is entitled “Preventing Genocide: A Blueprint for U.S. Policymakers”, asserts that genocide is preventable, and that making progress toward doing so begins with leadership and political will. The report provides 34 recommendations, starting with the need for high-level attention, standing institutional mechanisms, and strong international partnerships to respond to potential genocidal situations when they arise; it lays out a comprehensive approach, recommending improved early warning mechanisms, early action to prevent crises, timely diplomatic responses to emerging crises, greater preparedness to employ military options, and action to strengthen global norms and institutions.
» View and download the report
» View and download a brochure about the report (pdf)
