Thread by @BurbridgeDuke

Please take the time to do this. These bills make @StateDept use diplomatic measures to end the impunity for human rights violations and genocide in Ethiopia.

Our status quo of protecting authoritarian regimes over the basic human rights of the people must end./1

https://twitter.com/Tigrayact/status/1541589796702650368

This needs to change, right now, before it is too late to stop the #TigrayGenocide. The peace process is proceeding at a glacial pace AND humanitarian aid is on the table because the @_AfricanUnion, @UN, and @StateDept have all stuck to appeasement.
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https://twitter.com/BradSherman/status/1490826163316477956?s=20&t=F2NkJyFZbQrDmWGVtn41ag

The US tolerance for genocide is a driver of genocide all over the world. Read "A Problem from Hell" by @PowerUSAID to see every case where those responsible for some of the worst atrocities of the past 50 years figured out that US backlash was not going to be an issue.
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The US was made powerful through two of the worst ethnic genocides ever committed. We cannot change our past, but it's not enough to just stop being genocidal. We must use our influence to prevent genocide from happening elsewhere.
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Of course, there are limitations on what the US and the rest of the world can do. See @PatrickWight1 and @YurikoCowper in @GCR2P for an extensive look at the complexities and challenges.
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brill.com/view/journals/…

These bills accept limitations, they adhere to impartiality, all they do is force the @StateDept to place a greater priory on the lives of civilians who are suffering today in Ethiopia, whether they are in Tigray or Oromia or Addis Ababa or Amhara or anywhere else.
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The entire international community played a dangerous game with Ethiopia. After 600 days of #TigrayGenocide we still beg the regime to allow fuel for aid trucks and watch passively as the regime is credibly accused on a weekly basis of new atrocities.
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abcnews.go.com/International/…

Policy makers and diplomats love to say that human rights abuses are unacceptable and #NeverAgain. Then they go on accepting human rights abuses and genocide. #HR6600 and #S3199 is a step away from performative gestures and towards real accountability.
tigrayactioncommittee.com/hr6660%2Fsr3199
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