Expressing the sense of Congress that those who commit or support atrocities against Christians and other ethnic and religious minorities and who target them specifically for ethnic or religious reasons, are committing, and are hereby declared to be committing, “war crimes”, “crimes against humanity”, and “genocide”.

Sponsor: Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE)

Declares that: the atrocities perpetrated by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) against Christians, Yezidis, and other religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq and Syria constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide; all governments, including the United States, and international organizations, including the United Nations (U.N.), should call ISIL atrocities war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide; U.N. member states should coordinate on measures to prevent further war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in Iraq and Syria, and to punish those responsible for these ongoing crimes, including by the collection of evidence and, if necessary, the establishment of appropriate tribunals; the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Lebanese Republic, the Republic of Turkey, and the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq are to be commended for, and supported in, their efforts to shelter those fleeing violence from ISIL and other combatants until they can safely return to their homes in Iraq and Syria; and the protracted Syrian civil war and the indiscriminate violence of the Assad regime have contributed to ISIL's growth.

International Affairs Topic assigned by the Congressional Research Service.