Terming quick ratification of the Genocide Convention vital to United States interests, B’nai B’rith International called on two Senate Republican leaders to bring the treaty to the floor of the Senate at the earliest opportunity.
Gerald Kraft, president of B’nai B’rith International, said in letters to President Reagan, Senate Majority Leader Robert Dole (R. Kansas) and Foreign Relations Committee chairman Richard Lugar (R. Ind.) that further delay in ratifying the 37-year-old accord “will only give America’s adversaries more ammunition with which to attack us, both in world forums and in bilateral meetings.”
On the other hand, Kraft said, ratification would “bolster America’s efforts to advance the cause of human rights around the world.” Morever, he added, ratification prior to the Geneva summit talks next month would deprive the Soviets of a propaganda advantage and strengthen the U.S.’s hands in negotiating.
The B’nai B’rith leader commended Reagan for asking Dole to pursue ratification during this Senate session. “The United States is the only country with the moral conviction and power to make the Genocide Convention a potent tool,” Kraft said. “But without ratification we cannot employ it.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
