113 SRES 410 IS: Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
U.S. Senate
2014-04-03
text/xml
EN
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Whereas the Armenian Genocide was conceived and carried out by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to
1923, resulting in the deportation of nearly 2,000,000 Armenians, of whom
1,500,000 men, women, and children were killed and 500,000 survivors were
expelled from their homes, and the elimination of the over 2,500-year
presence of Armenians in their historic homeland;Whereas, on May 24, 1915, the Allied Powers of England, France, and Russia jointly issued a
statement explicitly charging for the first time ever another government
of committing crimes against humanity and civilization
;Whereas Raphael Lemkin, who coined the term genocide
, and whose draft resolution for a genocide convention treaty became the framework for the United
Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of
Genocide, recognized the Armenian Genocide as the type of crime the United
Nations should prevent and punish through the setting of international
standards;Whereas Senate Concurrent Resolution 12, 64th Congress, agreed to February 9, 1916, resolved that the President of the United States be respectfully asked to designate a day on which the citizens
of this country may give expression to their sympathy by contributing
funds now being raised for the relief of the Armenians
, who at the time were enduring starvation, disease, and untold suffering
;Whereas Senate Resolution 359, 66th Congress, agreed to May 11, 1920, stated that the testimony adduced at the hearings conducted by the subcommittee of the Senate Committee on
Foreign Relations have clearly established the truth of the reported
massacres and other atrocities from which the Armenian people have
suffered
;Whereas House Joint Resolution 148, 94th Congress, agreed to April 8, 1975, resolved, That April 24, 1975, is hereby designated as National Day of Remembrance of Man's Inhumanity to Man
, and the President of the United States is authorized and requested to issue a proclamation
calling upon the people of the United States to observe such day as a day
of remembrance for all the victims of genocide, especially those of
Armenian ancestry …
;Whereas House Joint Resolution 247, 98th Congress, agreed to September 10, 1984, resolved, That April 24, 1985, is hereby designated as National Day of Remembrance of Man's Inhumanity to Man
, and the President of the United States is authorized and requested to issue a proclamation
calling upon the people of the United States to observe such day as a day
of remembrance for all the victims of genocide, especially the one and
one-half million people of Armenian ancestry …
;Whereas the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, an independent Federal agency, unanimously
resolved on April 30, 1981, that the United States Holocaust Memorial
Museum would document the Armenian Genocide in the Museum, and has done so
through a public examination of the historic record, including lectures
and the maintenance of books, records, and photographs about the Genocide;Whereas the Government of the Republic of Turkey has continued its international campaign of
Armenian Genocide
denial, maintained a blockade of Armenia, and continues to pressure the
small but growing Turkish civil society movement for acknowledging the
Armenian Genocide;Whereas, in April 2011, the month of remembrance of the Armenian Genocide, the Government of the
Republic of Turkey
demolished a 100-foot-high statue in the city of Kars which was erected to
promote reconciliation with Armenia;Whereas the denial of the Armenian Genocide by the Government of the Republic of Turkey has
prevented the meaningful
advancement of a constructive political, economic, and security
relationship between Armenia and Turkey; andWhereas the teaching, recognition, and commemoration of acts of genocide and other crimes against
humanity is essential to preventing the re-occurrence of similar
atrocities: Now, therefore, be it
That it is the sense of the Senate—(1)to remember and observe the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide on April 24, 2014;(2)that the President should work toward an equitable, constructive, stable, and durable
Armenian-Turkish
relationship that includes the full acknowledgment by the Government of
the
Republic of Turkey of
the facts about the Armenian Genocide; and(3)that the President should ensure that the foreign policy of the United States reflects appropriate
understanding and sensitivity concerning issues related to human rights,
crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented in the
United States record relating to the Armenian Genocide.