LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION mourning the tragic and untimely death of Alison
L. Des Forges, human rights activist and historian

WHEREAS, It is with great sorrow and deep regret that this Legislative
Body records the passing of Alison L. Des Forges, noting the signif-
icance of her purposeful life and accomplishments; and
WHEREAS, A senior adviser to the African Division of Human Rights
Watch for almost two decades, Alison L. Des Forges dedicated her life to
working on Rwanda and was the world's leading expert on the 1994 Rwanda
genocide and its aftermath; and
WHEREAS, The daughter of Herman A. Liebhafsky and Sybil Small, Alison
L. Des Forges was born in Schenectady, New York, on August 20, 1942; she
graduated from Radcliffe College in 1964 and received a Master's degree
and a doctorate in History from Yale University; and
WHEREAS, Alison L. Des Forges moved to Buffalo, New York, with her
family in 1973, where she served as an adjunct professor at the Univer-
sity of Buffalo and helped found the Bennett Park Montessori School; and
WHEREAS, An historian by training, Alison L. Des Forges spent much of
her adult life working on Rwanda and the Great Lakes region of Africa,
beginning as a volunteer at Human Rights Watch, a New York based non-
profit advocacy organization; and
WHEREAS, Alison L. Des Forges soon began working full-time on Rwanda
and was sent with a team to the region to research ethnic tensions and
political killings in 1992; just as her report warned, violence esca-
lated and war began two years later; and
WHEREAS, After the killings ended, Alison L. Des Forges spent four
years interviewing organizers and victims of the genocide and testified
before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and at trials in
Belgium, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Canada; she also appeared on
expert panels convened by the United Nations, the French and Belgian
Legislatures, the United States Congress and what is now the African
Union; and
WHEREAS, In 1999, Alison L. Des Forges received a "genius" grant from
the MacArthur Foundation in recognition of her work and her authori-
tative book about the Rwandan genocide, LEAVE NONE TO TELL THE STORY,
was published later that year; and
WHEREAS, Alison L. Des Forges was banned from Rwanda in 2008 after
Human Rights Watch published an extensive analysis of judicial reform
there; most recently, she was working on a Human Rights Watch report
about killings in eastern Congo; and
WHEREAS, Alison L. Des Forges is survived by her husband, Roger,
daughter, Jessie, son, Alexander, and three grandchildren, all of whom
felt privileged to be a part of her life and rejoiced in her many
achievements; and
WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is proud to inscribe upon its records
this memoriam for Alison L. Des Forges, who leaves behind a legacy which
will long endure the passage of time and remain as a comforting memory
to all she served and befriended; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
mourn the death of Alison L. Des Forges, human rights activist and
historian; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to the family of Alison L. Des Forges.