WASHINGTON, DC – The senior Democrat on the influential Senate Committee tasked to review the Genocide Resolution pledged his support for the measure today, bringing the list of cosponsors to thirty-five, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA.)

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, cosponsored S.Res.164, a resolution marking the 15th anniversary of the U.S. implementation of the Genocide Convention. The decision came following an October 31st meeting between ANC Vermont Chairman Armen Carapetian, ANCA Government Affairs Director Abraham Niziblian and Sen. Leahy’s foreign affairs staff, during which the group discussed a wide range of issues of concern to the Armenian American community.

The Genocide resolution was introduced in the Senate in June by Senators John Ensign (R-NV) and Jon Corzine (D-NJ). Its companion House measure, H.Res.193, led by Representatives George Radanovich (R-CA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), was adopted unanimously by the House Judiciary Committee in May and has 111 cosponsors. The resolution cites the importance of remembering past crimes against humanity, including the Armenian Genocide, Holocaust, Cambodian and Rwandan genocides, in an effort to stop future atrocities. Support for the measure has been widespread, with a diverse coalition of over 100 ethnic, religious, civil and human rights organizations calling for its passage, including American Values, National Organization of Women, Sons of Italy, NAACP, Union of Orthodox Rabbis, and the National Council of La Raza.

“We are fortunate, here in Vermont, to be represented by Senator Leahy – who serves as the Ranking Member on both the panel with jurisdiction over the Genocide Resolution as well as the subcommittee responsible for writing the foreign aid bill,” said Armen Carapetian, the ANC-Vermont Chairman. Carapetian, who, prior to moving to Vermont, served as chairman of ANC-Maryland during that state’s passage of a Genocide Resolution, added that, “the increasingly active Vermont Armenian community appreciates the Senator’s leadership and looks forward to continuing to work with him in support of the passage of the Genocide Resolution.”