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ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS <br />RESOLUTION TO FOSTER GENOCIDE REMEMBRANCE <br />WHEREAS, throughout history genocide has been a tragic part of humanity's <br />existence; and <br />WHEREAS it is important to acknowledge that we are all partners in justice with <br />a shared legacy of intolerance; and <br />WHEREAS, Americans have contributed to historical acts of genocide, including <br />the 10-20 million black Africans who died during the 200 yeaxs of the <br />international slave trade and the decimation of nearly 12 million Native American <br />Indians in North America between 1600 and 1850; and <br />WHEREAS, the country of Armenia recognizes April 24 as Genocide <br />Remembrance Day in recognition of the government-ordered deaths of 1.5 <br />million Armenians in 1915; and <br />WHEREAS, April 21, 2009 was recognized as Holocaust Remembrance Day in <br />honor of the victims of Nazi genocide, including more than 6 million Jews and <br />approximately 5.5 million other targeted groups including Gypsies, Poles, gays <br />and lesbians, Jehovah's Witnesses, and others; and <br />WHEREAS, other major acts of genocide have taken place during the past <br />century, including but not limited to Stalin's Forced famine: (1932 -1933: <br />7,000,000 Ukrainian deaths); Rape of Nanking (1937 - 193$: 300,000 Chinese <br />deaths and more than 20,000 rapes); Pol Pot Cambodia (1975-1979: 1.7 million <br />deaths); Rwanda (1994; 800,000 Tutsis deaths); Bosnia-Herzegovina (1992-1995: <br />200,000 Muslim deaths); and most recently Darfur, Sudan (2003-present; 200,000 <br />deaths); and <br />WHEREAS, it is important to remember history so that mistakes of the past are <br />not repeated for future generations; and <br />WHEREAS, Orange County finds it equally important to remember the atrocities <br />committed against all peoples in the name of religious, racial and ethnic cleansing <br />so that we may recognize the inevitable outcomes of our daily intolerance; <br />NOW, THEREFORE, we, the Orange County Board of Commissioners, do <br />hereby adopt this Resolution to Foster Genocide Remembrance and encourage <br />Orange County residents to reflect upon all acts of genocide and intolerance. <br />THIS THE 19th DAY OF MAY, 2009 <br />alerie P. Fos air <br />Orange County Board of <br />Commissioners <br />