Ear to the Ground: United States Recognizes Atrocities Committed by ISIS as Genocide
Secretary of State John Kerry delivering a statement on March 17 (New York Times Video)
In the 2015 “Omnibus” government spending bill, the United States Congress set a deadline for the State Department to decide whether to categorize ISIS violence toward Christians and others as “genocide.” The House voted unanimously (393-0) on Monday to agree to the terminology, and three days later, before the deadline passed, Secretary of State John Kerry officially labeled ISIS atrocities as genocide.
Kerry, in his statement, recognized the existing military involvement by the United States and stressed the importance of “preservation,” noting that fundamental aspects of fighting genocide include providing emergency aid, recovering cities, investigating mass graves, and providing material and psychological care (especially toward victims of “gender-based violence” and escaped prisoners.) He named the nature of crimes committed against Christians, Yazidis and Shiite Muslims, although many more religious minorities are facing persecution throughout the Middle East.
Kerry pledged United States support and laid out the responsibility of organizations like the United Nations, which already had called the crisis genocide, along with other countries:
“Ultimately, the full facts must be brought to light by an independent investigation and through formal legal determination made by a competent court or tribunal. But the United States will strongly support efforts to collect, document, preserve, and analyze the evidence of atrocities, and we will do all we can to see that the perpetrators are held accountable.”
While the announcement is important for many lawmakers and activist groups pushing the Obama administration to recognize the harm done to various religious groups, The New York Times reports the proclamation “is unlikely to change American policy” in practice and calls Kerry’s statement “negligible.”
The Times adds:
“The United States is already leading a coalition that is fighting the militants, and American aircraft have been bombing Islamic State leaders and fighters, its oil-smuggling operations and even warehouses where the group has stockpiled millions of dollars in cash.”
Under a United Nations mandate from 1948, the United States (and other U.N. countries) is required to “take such action … as they consider appropriate for the prevention and suppression of acts of genocide or any of the other acts.” However, as RT reports:
“What kind of action and when it would need to be taken is up for debate. The last time the US recognized genocide was in Sudan in 2004, but at that time the State Department said it was not obligated to take action, and instead went to the UN to try and reach consensus on the issue.”
Kerry’s senior aides added that “using the word also means the history of the situation will be better documented” but noted. that “it does not necessarily mean changing military strategy or changes in the refugee system” at this time.
—Posted by Emma Niles
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Source: http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/us_recognizes_atrocities_committed_by_isis_as_genocide_20160318/
