The need to improve this situation cannot
be overstated. Additionally, although substantial evidence of genocide
exists, the United States should cooperate in taking further
action to develop additional documentation and preservation
before physical evidence is lost. Appropriations intended to
assist in the adjudication of ISIS fighters will be critical
in the coming months.
(4) Assist victims of genocide in attaining refugee status. A news report last week indicated that of the 499 Syrian
refugees admitted to the U.S. in May, not one was listed as
being Christian or as explicitly coming from any of the
groups targeted for genocides. How long will this situation
be allowed to continue? The U.S. should appropriate funding and work with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees to make provisions for
locating and providing status to individuals--such as Yezidis
and Christians--that have been targeted for genocide. Many of
these genocide survivors fear going into official U.N.
refugee camps, where they are targeted. Thus they are
overlooked, and find it nearly impossible to acquire official
refugee status or immigrate. Congress should act now. Senator Tom Cotton has introduced
the Religious Persecution Relief Act, S. 2708, to provide for
overlooked minorities in the prioritization of refugees. We
support this bill and urge its passage.
(5) Prepare now for foreseeable human rights challenges as
ISIS-controlled territory is liberated by ensuring that
Christians and other minorities have equal rights to decide
their future;
We should prepare now for the consequences of the
liberation of ISIS controlled areas, including Mosul and the
Nineveh Region, as well as regions in Syria. We are likely to
see another humanitarian crisis as civilians flee the
fighting or return to their former communities when fighting
ceases. There has been much debate concerning plans for victims of
genocide in Iraq. Some have argued for returning people
safely to the Nineveh Region, others that they should be
allowed to stay in Kurdistan, still others that they be
allowed to immigrate. But these are not necessarily mutually
exclusive, competing proposals. People should be allowed to
decide their own future.
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