Student Anti-genocide Group Welcomes Bill To Prevent Genocide And Atrocities

WASHINGTON - Feb. 11, 2016 - PRLog -- Washington, D.C. – STAND, the Student Led Movement to End Mass Atrocities, welcomes today’s introduction of the Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act in the United States Senate.

STAND also thanks the leadership of Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Bob Casey (D-Pa.) Chris Coons (D-Del.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass).

Speaking on the importance of the bill, STAND’s Student Director and University of Chicago senior Francesca Freeman said: “Today is an important day for the genocide prevention movement. As a global leader, the United States has a responsibility to act to prevent genocide and mass atrocities. A focus on prevention not only promotes American moral values, but also saves millions of dollars in foreign aid needed as the result of violent conflict, and is a safeguard for American troops.”

The bill authorizes the Atrocities Prevention Board, supports resources for the U.S. Agency for International Development, and mandates training in atrocities prevention for State Department personnel.

STAND is joined in its support of atrocities prevention initiatives by over two dozen (http://fcnl.org/issues/ppdc/OrganizationalSign-OnStatemen...) nongovernmental organizations, including the Enough Project, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Invisible Children, Jewish World Watch, Peace Alliance, The Resolve LRA Crisis Initiative, and United to End Genocide. To learn more about STAND, visit www.standnow.org.