March 30, 2007 - 15:14 AMT
U.S. Senate adopted bill on criminal punishment for committing genocide
The U.S. Senate adopted a legislation, which allows the Justice Department to prosecute in the United Stated those who are responsible for committing genocide in other countries. The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) informed the PanARMENIAN.Net journalist that the "Genocide Accountability" Act, was approved only two weeks after its introduction on March 15th by Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin, the lead author of the Armenian Genocide Resolution, along with Tom Coburn, Patrick Leahy, and John Cornyn. Under current law, "genocide is only considered a crime if it is committed within the United States or by a U.S. national outside the United States". The Genocide Accountability Act would close the current loophole by amending the Genocide Convention Implementation Act to allow prosecution of non-U.S. citizens for genocide committed outside the U.S.