A New Tool to Fight Genocide

Traditional methods for combatting crimes against community include United Nations peacekeeping efforts, the International Criminal Court and humanitarian aid. Ongoing prevalence of civil war and genocide in central and eastern Africa, however, indicates that the world must seek new and more effective solutions. Restrictions on money laundering may be the best way to “address the root causes of mass atrocities: the incentives for officials and their collaborators to use violence and authoritarian rule to maintain or gain power,” reports Foreign Affairs. When laundering money – say, transforming profits from smuggling oil, precious minerals and wildlife into assets like real estate – kleptocrats prefer using the US dollar. The United States could easily expand the purview of existing money laundering measures as detailed under the Patriot Act to include human rights protection in Africa. – YaleGlobal