YEREVAN, JUNE 10, ARMENPRESS:

The Rhode Island General Assembly has passed a bill directing the state Department of Education to help schools teach students about genocide.

Under the legislation, the state Education Department would be required to post on its website curricular materials dealing with genocides including the Holocaust and those in Armenia, Cambodia, Darfur, Iraq and Rwanda.

The bill is sponsored by state Rep. Anastasia P. Williams of Providence and state Sen. Joshua Miller of Warwick. Williams called human rights violations by governments "ugly chapters of history" butsaid students must learn about them to prevent mistakes from being repeated.

The General Assembly in 2000 passed a bill requiring state education officials to develop a curriculum on genocide and human rights issues.