The House of Representatives voted to pass a resolution on Tuesday to pass a resolution officially recognizing the Armenian Genocide.
The resolution, H.R. 296, states that it is the official policy of the United States to recognize and commemorate the Ottoman Empire’s killing of 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1923.
It passed the House 405 to 11 with two Democrats and one Republican voting present and 11 Republicans voting against it.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) was one of the two Democrats who voted present. In a statement, Omar said she couldn’t support it because “genocide should not be used as a cudgel in a political fight.”
“I also believe accountability for human rights violations—especially ethnic cleansing and genocide—is paramount. But accountability and recognition of genocide should not be used as a cudgel in a political fight. It should be done based on academic consensus outside the push and pull of geopolitics.
Omar added that she felt the resolution should include “earlier mass slaughters like the transatlantic slave trade and Native American genocide.” – READ MORE