Ken Berwitz
Pressure is mounting on the Obama administration to takeaction following a unanimous Congressional vote Monday approving aresolution to designate the persecution of Christians and other minorities inthe Mid East by the Islamic State as “genocide.”
The resolution, which passed in the House in a 383-0 vote,comes ahead of a March 17 deadline requiring Secretary of State John Kerry toannounce a final decision.
The designation would legally categorize the targeting,torture, uprooting and slaughtering of Christians, Yazidis and Kurds as”genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
For the executive branch to officially take a position onsuch a determination, however, entails a more detailed legal review, requiringSec. Kerry and his legal advisors to determine whether the treatment ofChristians and others meets the definition of “genocide,” which according tothe United Nations Convention is “acts committed with intent to destroy,in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.”
Officials have hinted that assessment is still under way,making it likely Sec. Kerry will not make the March 17 deadline.
“This has to be done on the basis of the legal standardwith respect to genocide and the legal standard with respect to crimes againsthumanity,” Kerry said in Congressional testimony at the end of February.
