Quote of the Week: Ronald Reagan on Bearing Witness

by Michelle . · 2009-03-12 18:41:00 UTC
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Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide

Article I

The Contracting Parties confirm that genocide, whether committed in time of peace or in time of war, is a crime under international law which they undertake to prevent and to punish speak out against when cameras and voters are present, then remain silent once in office...but still sleep well at night.

President Ronald Reagan signed the Genocide Convention Implementation Act in 1987, officially committing the United States to uphold the provisions of the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. (In the spirit of my revision of R2P, I've edited Article I of the Convention to more accurately reflect its actual implementation, thus far.) In his speech at the signing ceremony, he began by saying:

"We gather today to bear witness to the past and learn from its awful example to make sure we are not condemned to relive its crimes."

Reagan's words were noble, but subsequent administrations have shown them to be empty --- Rwanda, Bosnia, and now Darfur all occurred on the watch of American presidents after we ratified the Genocide Convention. We claim to bear witness to the past, and yet we allow ourselves to repeat it, over and over again.

Discuss.

[Photo: "Never Again" -- A memorial inside the Dachau concentration camp.]

Michelle . has been involved in various activist endeavors, including the Teach Against Genocide pilot campaigns.
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