Humanity United

The Genocide Prevention Task Force is co-chaired by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former U.S. Secretary of Defense William Cohen. The task force launched in November 2007 to develop and promote more-effective U.S. genocide-prevention strategies.

The task force is the first high-level panel dedicated to improving the U.S. government’s capacity to respond to emerging threats of genocide and mass atrocities, in cooperation with other governments, international organizations, and non-governmental institutions. The task force has two primary goals: to position genocide prevention as a national U.S. priority and to develop practical policy recommendations.

The Genocide Prevention Task Force will provide a blueprint for the U.S. government to optimize its analytical, diplomatic, economic, and military responses to emerging threats of genocide and mass atrocities. The task force is supported by five distinct expert groups that focus on core issues for effective U.S. government response: early warning, pre–crisis engagement, preventative diplomacy, military options, and international institutions.

Task force members include influential U.S. political figures such as former Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle and former Republican vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp. Many task force members are closely connected to the Republican and Democratic U.S. presidential candidates in the 2008 elections and are shaping the candidates’ agendas. In December 2008, the task force will issue its report, which will include a set of concrete policy recommendations to better equip the next administration to prevent future mass atrocities.

Humanity United is a key institutional donor to the task force, which was convened by the U.S. Institute of Peace, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, and The American Academy of Diplomacy.

About This Photo

Secretaries Albright and Cohen, co-chairs of the Genocide Prevention Task Force, speak at the launch event for the task force in November 2007. (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, U.S. Institute of Peace, The American Academy of Diplomacy)

http://www.ushmm.org/conscience/taskforce