Statement from Co-Directors
June 04, 2020
The Institute for Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention stands in solidarity with demonstrators around the world as they peacefully protest the murder of George Floyd by an officer of the Minneapolis Police Department - just the latest crime committed by American police officers against individuals and communities of color.
The global outrage and public mobilization sparked by Mr. Floyd's murder at the hands of a public official sworn to protect him shows that millions of men and women around the world are no longer willing to tolerate state violence, racism, and identity-based discrimination. The Trump Administration's appalling call for still more violence to smash these protests marks yet another clear warning sign of the soaring risk of even greater state-sponsored violence against civilians in this country.
Recognized early warning signs for the elevated risk for mass violence include the quashing of legitimate political protests with excessive force; the deployment of militaries for the purpose of domestic policing, the proliferation of online hate speech, and the undermining of established political processes, including elections, that authoritarian figures justify by appeals to law and order.
We know only too well that these warning signs must not be ignored - and that reducing the risk of atrocity crimes here in the United States is a responsibility that we all share as citizens, as parents and children, brothers and sisters, members of diverse communities, and human beings. In these frightening times, the growing, compounding risks of impending mass violence must be taken not as fate but as a collective call to action.
In the United States, atrocity prevention has for too long, and by too many, been directed elsewhere. But as people who are Black, Indigenous, Latinx, migrant, LGBTQI+, or members of other marginalized groups who have suffered identity-based violence have always known, atrocities happen here. They can be stopped here. They must be.
Stopping the downward slide toward mass violence demands both mass public mobilization for justice, and concrete policy objectives that accountable political, military, education, and even business leaders should hear. The Institute for Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention joins a growing chorus of voices calling for:
- An immediate and absolute ban on the use of violence in response to peaceful protests, and accountability for government officials who authorize excessive force in response to the peaceful exercise of constitutionally-protected rights;
- An absolute ban on the deployment of United States military personnel as part of any domestic policing effort;
- A comprehensive and coordinated campaign that will finally address the deep-seated and violent racism entrenched not only in law enforcement agencies, but throughout all segments of society, not only through policy changes or trainings, but also through a dedication to doing the hard work of acknowledging systemic racism, changing institutional structures that support it, and exploring all appropriate reparative actions to respond to past and present harms;
- An end to legal protections and impunity for law enforcement personnel who use lethal force against unarmed individuals;
- A concerted and sustained effort to bring accountability and civic responsibility to social media corporations, whose platforms are being used to foment hatred and coordinate acts of violence by the far right;
- A public commitment by our elected officials to stand firm against attempts to subvert our national elections.
Max Pensky, Ph.D.Co-Director, Institute for Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention (I-GMAP) Professor, Department of Philosophy |
Nadia Rubaii, Ph.D.Co-Director, Institute for Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention (I-GMAP) Professor, Department of Public Administration |
