Despite the fact that Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Lebanon, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Uruguay, Venezuela, the Vatican, and over 40 U.S. states, have previously passed resolutions recognizing the actions by the Ottoman Turks as the first genocide of the 20 century, the U.S. Congress has not passed a resolution.

Muslim Turkey agrees that many Christian Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks but disputes the number of dead, at 1.5. million, and that the actions constituted genocide.

On March 4, 2010, a resolution to condemn the killings as genocide was passed by the House Foreign Affairs Committee despite a last minute appeal from the Obama administration against it. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, declared that Congress should not pass the resolution now due to possible damage to ties between Turkey and the U.S. During his campaign for the White House, Obama repeatedly promised to recognize the Armenian Genocide; since taking office, however, he has broken his pledge and is now pressuring Congress against adopting legislation commemorating this crime against humanity.

With strong Armenian-American communities in California, Senator Barbara Boxer campaigning for her re-election has joined with 14 of her Senate colleagues in calling on President Obama “to stand on the right side of history and unequivocally affirm the Armenian Genocide,” reported the Armenian National Committee of America. April 24th marks the 95th anniversary of the genocide.

Whether the resolution passed by the House Foreign Affairs Committee in March will go to the full House for a vote is in doubt.