The Nation - News from Oct. 16, 1988

Ending a 40-year struggle born out of the ashes of the Holocaust, the Senate by a voice vote sent to the White House legislation providing for U.S. participation in a treaty outlawing genocide. Ratified two years ago, implementing legislation was needed to give the treaty the force of American law. It declares genocide an international crime and defines it as the intentional destruction of national, ethnic, racial or religious groups, in whole or in part. The House passed the legislation on April 25. It specifically made genocide a crime under U.S. law, imposing life imprisonment as the maximum punishment.