May 12 Lobby visit to Congresswoman Jane Harman’s El Segundo office: Genocide Prevention

On May 12, 2010 the following 6 people from the CGS California Region met at the Los Angeles office of Congresswoman Jane Harman to lobby for Genocide Prevention:

• Evelyn Gingrich, Wendell Harter, Tom Hastings, Jean Schaefer, Peter Landecker, Bob Willett

We talked to her District Director, Michael Divirgilio.  We pushed for the two most important recommendations that CGS recommends for Congress from amongst the 34 recommendations for Genocide Prevention included in the 2008 Genocide Prevention Task Force Report headed by Madeleine Albright and William S. Cohen:

• Introducing and passing new genocide prevention legislation which includes the investment of $200 million in new funds for crisis prevention and response, with an additional $100 million available in the Complex Crises Fund for urgent off-cycle activities to prevent or halt emerging genocidal crises.
• Supporting UN efforts to prevent genocide by fully funding the President’s FY 2011 International Affairs Budget request of $2.182 billion for the Contributions for International Peacekeeping Activities (CIPA) account.

In the 2008 report “Preventing Genocide: A Blueprint for U.S. Policymakers,” a group of former US officials and civil society participants led by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Secretary of Defense William Cohen laid out a framework with 34 step-by step recommendations on how Congress, the Administration and the average citizen can contribute to the prevention of future genocides. As part of the exercise, lessons from US failures in past atrocities were examined to aid prevention of future genocides around the world.

For more information on Genocide Prevention and the CGS Annual Meeting in Washington DC May 19-22 focusing on Genocide Prevention, visit: http://www.globalsolutions.org/