Senate Resolution No. 1414

BY: Senator PERSAUD

MEMORIALIZING Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim
April 29, 2017, as a Day of Remembrance in the State
of New York for all victims of Chemical Warfare

WHEREAS, A Day of Remembrance has been set aside for the people of
the State of New York to remember the victims of chemical warfare as
well as to reflect on the need for respect of all people; and

WHEREAS, This Day of Remembrance comes after more than one hundred
years since chemical weapons were first used on a large scale during
World War I in Iper, Belgium; and

WHEREAS, Chemical weapons have cast a dark shadow over the 20th
Century, claiming countless victims, both civilians and soldiers across
the globe; each year we gather to honor the memory of all of those
victims; and

WHEREAS, This Act of Remembrance re-commits us to never allow any
person to fall victim, to never hear that lives have been blighted, to
never see the fear on the victims faces that has been affected by the
use of chemical weapons; and

WHEREAS, Since the Chemical Weapons Convention in 1993, it has
quickly encompassed 190 States, eliminating 87% of the world's declared
stockpiles of chemical weapons; and

WHEREAS, On this Remembrance Day, we renew our resolve to achieve a
world truly free of chemical weapons by rededicating ourselves to the
mission, with the will that fueled the creation of the global ban
against these weapons; and

WHEREAS, This Legislative Body should always remember the terrible
events of the fateful day in April of 1915, where the birth of chemical
warfare occurred, and remain vigilant against such destructive weapons;
and

WHEREAS, In addition, all New Yorkers should actively rededicate
ourselves to the principles of a civil and just society, to secure a
future that will never again experience these weapons by protecting,
strengthening and extending the norm enshrined by the Chemical Weapons
Convention; and

WHEREAS, This Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical
Warfare, will be a reminder to all citizens of the destruction chemical
weapons has left on our society, State, Nation, and world; now,
therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
memorialize Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim April 29, 2017, as a
Day of Remembrance in the State of New York, in honor of the victims of
chemical warfare, and to resolve to diligently work to prevent the use
of chemical weapons from every happening again; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the State of
New York.