Source: The Washington Post
The U.S. House of Representative voted 393 to 0 Monday night that the Islamic State’s assaults on religious minorities in Iraq and Syria constitute genocide, a rare designation advocates hope will drive attention and action to the plight of the persecuted groups.
The measure was expected to pass, but even sponsors said they were surprised it was unanimous. Congress has only faced votes a few times on the complex legal and moral questions of whether heinous crimes qualify as genocide — and division is deep about what, if anything, the label mandates the U.S. government should do. One of the most hot-button topics as lawmakers considered this vote has been whether it could lead to the United States opening its doors to many thousands of refugees — Muslims, Christians and others. Immigration has been among the most explosive topics in the current presidential race.
The last time the House voted for such a resolution was in 2004, when it said genocide was being committed in Darfur. The Bush administration concluded that the designation — the White House also adopted it — did not mandate a change in its policy there.
Sponsors of Monday’s measure were overwhelmed by the vote, which is advisory and doesn’t mandate anything. However, it comes a few months after Congress passed a budget measure including a section calling for Secretary of State John Kerry to tell Congress whether the situation with Islamic State militants constitutes genocide — and included a deadline of March 17 for him to do so. No vote is scheduled at the moment in the Senate.
The State Department declined to comment to The Post about its deliberations and whether it has a time frame for making a determination. However, in a briefing Monday, State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters that the agency is continuing to review information and that Kerry has said he will come to a conclusion “soon.”
Asked if Kerry’s decision would be impacted by the House vote, Kirby said the former senator “understands the significance of that process. But I can tell you what he’s mostly focused on is making his determination based on evidence and analysis that he’s getting from the State Department. And I’ll also just say that he has taken very, very seriously and wants to make sure that whatever determination that he makes, it’s fact-based and that it’s adequately reflective of what we’re seeing on the ground.”
Categories: America, ISIS, Minorities, The Muslim Times, USA