The American Jewish Committee has reiterated its “fervent hope that the Foreign Relations Committee will report out the Genocide Convention with a favorable recommendation, and that the Senate will give its overwhelming consent to ratification.” In a letter to Sen. Frank Church of Idaho, chairman of the Subcommittee on the Genocide Convention, Committee president Philip J. Hoffman asserted that “it is in our country’s national interest to join the large number of states which have already become parties to this fundamental human rights convention.” Mr. Hoffman added that “there are no constitutional or other legal obstacles to our government’s ratification.” President Nixon has recommended ratification, which has failed of implementation for two decades, Mr. Hoffman wrote to Mr. Hart specifically in connection with testimony to be offered at the Subcommittee’s hearings, scheduled for Monday, by Prof. Richard Gardner of Columbia University, representing the Ad Hoc Committee on Human Rights and Genocide Treaties, which the AJ Committee is a member. The Committee has recommended ratification since the Foreign Relations Committee hearings in 1950.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
