Mareh 16, 1971

Honorable William Proxmire
U. 8. Senate
Washington, D.C. 28510

Dear Bill,

The Genocide Convention has evidently been a top priority issue
for you for quite some time, judging from your almost daily references
te it in the Congressional Record,

As a Jew and as a human being I must also treat this issue with
the utmost gravity. 1 am somewhat at a loss, however, to understand
what would be the actual useful consequences, if any, of our adhering
to the convention, I realize that this {s a proposition against which
it is impossible to be opposed! I am, however, distressed by the very
loose way in which the expression "genocide" has already come to be used
and many of your colleagues in the Senate may be reluctant to go along
with you for fear of encouraging still more rhetoric with no useful action.

I note that your own discussions of this problem have focussed on
a very careful analysis of the legal implications of ratifying the
convention. In fact, in order to reassure some of your potentiel critics
your analysis suggests that the implementation of the convention would
be so limited by national discretion as to be virtually meaningless.

May I make a2 suggestion that may further the substantive consideration
of the treaty. That is, that you develop and display the draft legislation
that, in your view, would represent the implementation of the Genocide
Convention were it to be ratified. This would help expose several points,
including: the extent to which our existing pattern of law does or does
not already meet the standards of the treaty, and the extent to which the
adoption of the treaty would allow for national legiélation, not in conflict
with the Constitution but not otherwise authorized by it, to meet these
goals,

In my own view, the Genncide Convention without the means of inter-
national inforcement would be a gesture of futility that would undermine
faith in the substantive role of international organizations and agreements.
However, I am prepared to be disuaded by arguments that (a) our pattern of
domestic national law might be favorably influenced by adoption of the treaty
or (b) that our adherence to the convention might indeed have some influence
on the behavior of other governments.

Sincerely yours,

Joshua Lederberg
Professor of Genetics

JIu/rr over

o-oo ‘38/4 X Oded
Honorable William Proxtire = 2 3/16/71

PS.

If any recent hearings on this subject are available I would

be grateful for a copy; in particular I would be interested to
know which countries have adopted the Genocide Convention and
ways in which they have expresaed their adherence to it in their
own domestic law,