Press Release: Survivors Call on Global Leaders

PRESS RELEASE *** PRESS RELEASE FOR RELEASE – DECEMBER 9, 2008 Contact: Jonathan Freedman, 212-751-3326 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it On 60th Anniversary of the Genocide Convention SURVIVORS OF PREVIOUS GENOCIDES CALL ON GLOBAL LEADERS TO PREVENT MASS ATROCITIES New Report Names 33 Countries Where Mass Atrocity Crimes Are Ongoing or Possible; 8 countries are of highest concern NEW YORK – Dec. 9, 2008: In a public letter released today, on the 60th Anniversary of the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, a group of survivors of previous atrocities called for the international community to prevent mass atrocities and to protect those experiencing mass slaughter. In an open letter to world leaders, 24 genocide survivors of the Holocaust and the slaughters in Armenia, Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda and Sudan wrote: “We approach you on behalf of our beloved dead, in their millions of voices. Violence silences the voices of our sisters and brothers in places like Darfur, Somalia, Burma and Congo, yet we can hear their pleas for protection, and we must speak for them too. We speak for the world’s children and for generations yet to come: unless we take responsible action now, they too, in countless numbers, will pay the ultimate price.” (Read the full text of the letter.) The survivors’ letter was coordinated by the Genocide Prevention Project, which also marked the anniversary of the UN Genocide Convention. The new project issued a report that includes a new “Mass Atrocity Crimes Watch List 2008-09,” which aggregates, for the first time, expert indices that measure the early warning signs of systematic mass atrocity crimes. The “watch list of watch lists” identifies 33 countries where ethnic cleansing, war crimes, crimes against humanity and/or genocide are ongoing or where there is potential for such crimes. The watch list identifies eight countries of highest concern. These countries appeared on each of the five expert indices and received the highest composite score on our watch list (Tier 1: Red Alert): Sudan, Burma, Somalia, Iraq, Pakistan, DR Congo, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. The twenty-five countries with the next highest composite scores appeared on three or more of the indices and comprise the next tier of composite scores on Mass Atrocity Crimes Watch List. (Read the full list and the methodology.) “The best way to stop genocide is to prevent it from happening,” said Jill Savitt, Executive Director of the Genocide Prevention Project. “We need a new framework, one focused on working, aggressively and pro-actively, to avert mass atrocities at the earliest stages – before the killing on a mass scale begins.” The report, More Than An Ounce Required: Summoning the Political Will to Prevent Genocide and Mass Atrocity Crimes in the 21st Century, calls for a new “prevention framework,” based on early warning and response, to deal with mass atrocity crimes. The Genocide Prevention Project also announced Genocide Prevention Month, slated for April 2008. The public awareness month will feature commemoration ceremonies for six previous genocides and 30 days of action to urge the UN and member states to adopt a mass atrocity crimes prevention agenda. # # # The Genocide Prevention Project, formed in the fall of 2008, focuses on public education and advocacy about genocide and mass atrocity prevention. This campaign grew out of a highly visible effort, Dream for Darfur, which used the spotlight of the Beijing Olympics to highlight China’s complicity in the Darfur genocide. The Genocide Prevention Project is an initiative of Public Interest Projects, a 501(c)3 public charity. www.preventorprotect.org