President Obama has been sent a letter from more than 100 groups, organizations and individuals asking that his administration declare atrocities committed by ISIS are acts of genocide.
The Christian Post reported Thursday it had obtained an “early copy” of the letter, which was signed by representatives of the Hudson Institute, Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission and Family Research Council. The International Religious Freedom Roundtable’s asks for the genocide declaration on behalf of not just Christians, but rather all minorities in ISIS-controlled territory.
An atheist group, the Center for Inquiry, reportedly joined on the request Thursday.
“There is a growing chorus of political and faith leaders, genocide scholars, human rights experts and numerous Iraqi and Syrian, Christian and Yazidi firsthand testimonies recognizing that the most accurate description for the atrocities unfolding at the initiative of the Islamic State is genocide,” the letter reportedly states. “The world is watching and clear moral leadership by your administration is needed to declare and subsequently stop such atrocities in order to preserve these ancient communities. It is our belief that officially declaring and subsequently halting this genocide is a matter of vital moral and strategic importance for the United States, the international community, and the overall state of religious freedom around the world.”
American recognition of the ongoing genocide, following an existing declaration from the European Union, would put tremendous pressure on the rest of the world to act. The Obama administration leaked late last year that a declaration was coming, but that it would only cover atrocities committed against Yazidis.
Just before Christmas, President Obama issued a “Statement on Persecuted Christians at Christmas.” And just last week, his Ash Wednesday statement said he would be reflecting upon the persecution of Christians around the world during Lent. This would indicate the administration knows and understands what is happening in ISIS-controlled territory isn’t just happening to Yazidis.
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