[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 40 (Monday, March 14, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H1314-H1317]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DEFINING CERTAIN ATROCITIES AS WAR CRIMES, CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY, AND
GENOCIDE
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 75) expressing the
sense of Congress that those who commit or support atrocities against
Christians and other ethnic and religious minorities, including
Yezidis, Turkmen, Sabea-Mandeans, Kaka`e, and Kurds, 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'', as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution.
The text of the concurrent resolution is as follows:
H. Con. Res. 75
Whereas Christians and other religious and ethnic
minorities have been an integral part of the cultural fabric
of the Middle East for millennia;
Whereas the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
(ISIL) and associated extremists are committing egregious
atrocities against ethnic and religious minorities in Iraq
and Syria, including Christians (including Assyrian Chaldean
Syriac, Armenian, and Melkite communities, among others),
Yezidis, Turkmen, Shabak, Sabaean-Mandeans, and Kaka`i, among
others;
Whereas ISIL specifically targets these religious and
ethnic minorities, intending to kill them or force their
submission, conversion, or expulsion;
Whereas religious and ethnic minorities have been murdered,
subjugated, forced to emigrate, and subjected to grievous
bodily and psychological harm, kidnapping, human trafficking,
torture, and rape;
Whereas ISIL engages in, and publicly argues in favor of,
the sexual enslavement of non-Muslim women, including pre-
pubescent girls;
Whereas ISIL atrocities against Christians, Yezidis, and
other minorities have included mass murder, crucifixions,
beheadings, rape, torture, enslavement, the kidnaping of
children, and other violence deliberately calculated to
eliminate their communities from the so-called Islamic State;
Whereas ISIL has deliberately destroyed and looted numerous
cultural sites, religious shrines, churches, monasteries, and
museums in order to eradicate the cultures of ethnic and
religious minorities from the territory it attempts to
control;
Whereas these atrocities have been undertaken with the
specific intent to bring about the eradication of those
communities and the destruction of their cultural heritage;
Whereas ISIL operations have in fact driven minority
religious and ethnic communities from their ancestral
homelands;
Whereas under applicable international law referenced in
section 2441 of Title 18 of the United States Code, murder,
torture, mutilation, rape, cruel treatment, and hostage-
taking of non-combatants constitute war crimes;
Whereas crimes against humanity, as defined by the
International Military Tribunal convened at Nuremberg in
1945, and in various international instruments since then,
include murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, and
other inhumane acts committed against any civilian
population, as well as persecution on political, racial, or
religious grounds in connection with such crimes;
Whereas the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and
Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, signed and ratified by
the United States, defines genocide as ``any of the following
acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in
part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as
such: (a) Killing members of the group; (b) Causing serious
bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (c)
Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life
calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole
or in part; (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births
within the group; (e) Forcibly transferring children of the
group to another group'';
Whereas on August 7, 2014, Secretary of State John Kerry
declared that ``ISIL's campaign of terror against the
innocent, including Yezidi and Christian minorities, and its
grotesque and targeted acts of violence bear all the warning
signs and hallmarks of genocide'';
Whereas in August 2014, the United States conducted
targeted airstrikes and humanitarian assistance operations to
help break the siege of Mount Sinjar, saving the lives of
thousands of Yezidi men, women, and children;
Whereas His Holiness, Pope Francis, has noted that ``entire
communities, especially - but not only - Christians and
Yezidis have suffered and are still suffering inhuman
violence because of their ethnic and religious identity'' and
that, for Christians being killed for their faith in the
Middle East, ``a form of genocide -- I insist on the word --
is taking place, and it must end'';
Whereas a March 13, 2015, report by the Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights detailed
``acts of violence perpetrated [by ISIL] against civilians
because of their affiliation or perceived affiliation to an
ethnic or religious group'' and stated that ``[i]t is
reasonable to conclude that some of these incidents,
considering the overall information, may constitute
genocide'';
Whereas in testimony before the House Foreign Affairs
Committee on May 13, 2015, Dominican Sister Diana Momeka,
whose convent was driven from Mosul, Iraq, described the ISIL
offensive as ``cultural and human genocide'' and stated that
today ``[t]he only Christians that remain in the Plain of
Nineveh are those who are held as hostages'';
Whereas in December 2015, the United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum's Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of
Genocide issued a report focused on the treatement of
minorities in Nineveh from June to August 2014, which found
that ISIL had ``targeted civilians based on group identity,
committing mass atrocities to control, expel, and exterminate
ethnic and religious minorities'' and, in that context,
``committed crimes against humanity, war crimes, and ethnic
cleansing against [Christian, Yezidi, Turkmen, Shabak,
Sabaean-Mandean, and Kaka'i] communities in Nineva'' and
``perpetrated genocide against the Yezidi people'';
Whereas on December 7, 2015, the United States Commission
on International Religious Freedom called on the United
States Government ``to designate the Christian, Yezidi,
Shi'a, Turkmen, and Shabak communities of Iraq and Syria as
victims of genocide by ISIL'' and urged world leaders ``to
condemn the genocidal actions and crimes against humanity of
ISIL that have been directed at these groups and other ethnic
and religious groups'';
Whereas on February 3, 2016, the European Parliament
expressed the view that ISIL ``is committing genocide against
Christians and Yezidis, and other religious and ethnic
minorities'';
Whereas Syrian President Bashar al Assad's violence against
the Syrian people has attracted foreign fighters from around
the world, who have supported and committed ISIL atrocities;
and
Whereas according to some estimates, the conflict among all
parties to the Syrian civil war has killed 470,000 and
displaced 11,000,000 people: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That--
(1) the atrocities perpetrated by ISIL against Christians,
Yezidis, and other religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq
and Syria constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity, and
genocide;
(2) all governments, including the United States, and
international organizations, including the United Nations and
the Office of the Secretary-General, should call ISIL
atrocities by their rightful names: war crimes, crimes
against humanity, and genocide;
(3) the member states of the United Nations should
coordinate urgently 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 and preservation of
evidence and, if necessary, the establishment and operation
of appropriate tribunals;
(4) 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 and protect those fleeing the violence of
ISIL and other combatants until they can safely return to
their homes in Iraq and Syria; and
(5) the protracted Syrian civil war and the indiscriminate
violence of the Assad regime have contributed to the growth
of ISIL and will continue to do so as long as this conflict
continues.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
Jersey (Mr. Smith) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.
General Leave
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that
all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New Jersey?
There was no objection.
[[Page H1315]]
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to thank Jeff Fortenberry and
his lead cosponsor, Anna Eshoo, for their extremely important
resolution, H. Con. Res. 75, as amended, calling on the Obama
administration to declare the annihilation of Christians, Yazidis, and
other minorities, for what it is, a genocide.
On December 4 of last year, a coalition of prominent religious
leaders wrote President Obama and stated, ``Christian and Yazidi
minorities in Iraq and Syria are being targeted for eradication in
their ancient homelands solely because of their religious beliefs.''
They had been prompted by reports of an ``imminent'' State Department
finding that ISIS was committing genocide against the Yazidis, a
finding they ``wholeheartedly'' endorsed, but were ``deeply troubled,''
like we all were, that the genocide of Christians was going to be
bypassed or excluded.
Apparently press reports had claimed that the rationale for excluding
Christians was that, unlike the Yazidis, Christians had a choice to
convert to Islam and pay an Islamic tax, or be killed, tortured,
enslaved, or held hostage.
In direct rebuttal of that argument at a hearing that I held on
December 9, Carl Anderson, the Supreme Knight of the Knights of
Columbus, stated:
Many times the payment of the tax is not presented as an
option for these Christians. In instances where the Yazidi
tax has been enacted or extracted, it has failed to ensure
that the Christians could live as Christians, that they were
protected from rival jihadists, or even other members of
ISIS, or that the amendment of payment was not raised over
time until it became impossible for some of them to pay,
causing the family's home, and even their children, to be
confiscated, and the adults to be killed or forced to become
Muslims.
It is a very, very poor argument that has been made by the State
Department, so we believe they have made this. Hopefully, they will
rectify it.
Let me also point out to my colleagues that the Genocide Convention
defines genocide as ``the killing and certain other acts committed with
the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical,
racial, or religious group.''
The religious leaders who signed the December 4 letter compiled
extensive files supporting a finding that ISIS' treatment of Iraqi and
Syrian Christians absolutely meets this definition. They include:
Evidence of ISIS assassinations of church leaders; mass
murders; torture, kidnapping for ransom in the Christian
communities of Iraq and Syria; sexual enslavement and
systematic rape of Christian girls and women; its practices
of forcible conversions to Islam; its destruction of
churches, monasteries, cemeteries, and Christian artifacts;
and its theft of lands and wealth from Christian clergy and
laity alike.
They went on to cite ``ISIS' own public statements taking credit for
mass murder of Christians, and expressing its intent eliminate
Christian communities from the Islamic State.''
The letter recounted how ``ISIS jihadis have stamped Christian homes
in Mosul with the red letter N for Nazarene in the summer of 2014,''
pointing out how the ``elimination of Christians in other towns and
cities in Iraq and Syria began long beforehand.''
Mr. Speaker, I held a hearing 3 years ago extolling and urging the
administration to recognize the genocide against Christians, and our
witnesses, the private witnesses who spoke, gave instance after
instance of crimes against Christians that were done simply because
they were Christians.
At a December 9 hearing, we heard from four witnesses. I mentioned
one a moment ago, Carl Anderson, from the Knights of Columbus. We also
heard from Dr. Stanton, of Genocide Watch, who said, ``Failure to call
ISIS' mass murder of Christians, Shiia, Muslims, and other groups in
addition to the Yazidis by its proper name, genocide, would be an act
of denial as grave as the U.S. refusal to recognize the Rwanda genocide
back in 1994.''
{time} 1615
Bishop Kalabat, a Chaldean bishop, was extremely pointed in his
remarks when he said that ``the Obama administration, including
President Obama himself, have neglected to mention that the ISIS
atrocities were committed against Christians. They rightly mention
atrocities committed in Iraq against the Yazidis, and they are
horrific.'' The bishop went on, ``But there are also atrocities of
rape, killings, crucifixions, beheadings, hangings that the Syrian and
Iraqi Christians have endured, and they are intentionally omitted.'' He
compellingly stated that ``the U.S. Government should not turn a blind
eye to the genocidal atrocities faced by Iraq's ethnic and religious
minorities, including the Christians, the Yazidis, and others.''
Finally, in very, very powerful testimony, the head of Yezidi Human
Rights Organization-International, Mr. Ismail, stated that though his
people, the Yazidis, were on the verge of annihilation, he called upon
the administration not to neglect the others who are also on the verge
of annihilation, and said, ``the Yazidis and the Chaldo-Assyrian
Christians face this genocide together.''
Now is the time to act. We cannot let the cries of the victims go
unheeded as we once did when we confronted the genocide in Rwanda and
other genocides that have occurred around the world. Mr. Speaker, I
therefore urge my colleagues to vote for H. Con. Res. 75.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume,
and I rise in strong support of the resolution.
Mr. Speaker, this resolution deals with the crimes of ISIS.
I want to thank my colleague from California, Anna Eshoo, and our
colleague from Nebraska, Jeff Fortenberry, for their drafting of this
resolution which I and so many others have cosponsored, and I want to
thank the chair and ranking member of our committee for their work in
preparing the amendment that we adopted in committee.
This resolution, H. Con. Res. 75, identifies the violent acts of ISIS
by their right name: war crimes, crimes against humanity, and, where
appropriate, genocide. We could and will be conducting a complete
analysis in the future to identify which atrocities of ISIS are merely
war crimes and which atrocities of ISIS are part of an overall systemic
genocide. But it is clear that at least some of the war crimes are part
of a planned genocide against religious minorities in the areas that
ISIS occupies.
This resolution also includes a call upon the United States and all
the states of the U.N. to conduct measures designed to prevent these
crimes and genocide in the future. Now, it is said that People of the
Book, most relevantly Christians, are being told by ISIS that they only
have to pay a jizya and they will be allowed to live, a special tax
imposed upon them. But the fact is that we know that the Yazidis are
not even given that option but are subject to extermination; whereas,
Christians may be told to pay the tax and then, when they run out of
money, be executed because they are not paying more. So we know that
ISIS is guilty of crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide.
In addition to passing this resolution, we ought to focus on the most
significant thing the United States is doing against ISIS, and that, of
course, is our airstrikes. I believe our airstrikes have been subject
to rules of engagement that are far too limited. For example, we have
learned that we try to cut off ISIS' flow of money by hitting the
tanker trucks that are taking the oil out of ISIS areas for sale, but
we are only hitting those trucks when they are parked, not when they
are moving.
It is true that, if you hit a moving truck, you may kill the driver,
and that driver may be an ISIS soldier or may be a civilian; but if you
look at the strategic bombing that we engaged in during World War II,
not just the strategic bombing of Germany, but the strategic bombing of
occupied France and occupied Belgium and so many other occupied
countries, you will see that we hit munitions plants and transportation
tanker trucks whether or not those people operating the transportation
devices and operating in the munitions plants were civilian or
military.
If we are going to get serious against ISIS, we have to be willing
not to target civilians but, instead, to do everything we can to
prevent killing civilians; but we have to be willing to hit
[[Page H1316]]
strategic targets even if we are not 100 percent sure that all civilian
casualties will be avoided.
So I look forward to our working both diplomatically and militarily
for the destruction of ISIS and eventually holding ISIS' leaders to
account for their war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may
consume to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Fortenberry), the author of
H. Con. Res 75.
Mr. FORTENBERRY. Mr. Speaker, first, let me thank my colleague and
good friend, Congressman Chris Smith of New Jersey, for his tireless
efforts on a whole, broad spectrum of assaults on human dignity. He is
constantly trying to elevate the conscience of this body and the
worldwide community. I thank the chairman, as well, for coordinating
this effort and speaking favorably to it, as well as Chairman Royce and
Ranking Member Engel, who passed this through the Foreign Affairs
Committee.
I need to also, because she is not here, thank Anna Eshoo, a
Democratic colleague from California.
We are living in a time when our country looks at Congress and sees
stagnation, anger, and gridlock and not being able to get things done.
What we have before us today is a transpartisan resolution. It has
risen above the petty and difficult differences that we often work out
here on the floor of the House of Representatives. It has risen above
it because of its essential nature. Not only is there a grave injustice
happening in the Middle East to the people, to the Christians, Yazidis,
and other religious minorities who have as much a right to be in their
ancient homeland as anyone else, but this is a threat against
civilization itself.
When a group of people, ISIS--8th century barbarians with 21st
century weapons--can systematically try to exterminate another group of
people simply because of their faith tradition, violating the sacred
space of individuality, conscience, and religious liberty, you
undermine the entire system for international order building out of
rule of law and proper social interaction--civilization itself. That is
why so many Members have come together here in a bipartisan,
transpartisan way and said, ``Enough.''
This is a genocide against Christians and Yazidis. It is a crime
against humanity and against others, as well, who are suffering because
of their religious faith.
By the way, it should be noted that the group of people who have been
most killed by ISIS are innocent Muslims, as well.
This is an important resolution to speak clearly about what is
happening in the land.
Why is it important? Because it raises the international
consciousness, and it compels the responsible communities of the world
to act. Secondly, it creates the potential preconditions for when there
is a security settlement in the Middle East that will allow these
ancient faith traditions to reintegrate back into their homeland and
continue to contribute to the once-rich tapestry that made up the
Middle East.
That is why this is so essential. It is just. The responsible
communities of the world must act, and it is essential for
international order and international stability if there is going to be
a chance for any type of hope and long-lasting viability of order and
tranquility in that area.
As my colleague, Mr. Smith, mentioned, Genocide Watch has labeled
this genocide. The International Association of Genocide Scholars has
called this genocide. The Yezidi Human Rights Organization-
International has said this is genocide. Pope Francis has said that
this is genocide and has decried the scandal of silence and the scandal
of indifference in this regard--again, another reason why action by
this body is so essential.
In addition to that, I want to leave you with one quick story.
I represent the largest Yazidi community in America. I have been
dealing with this community for many, many years, many of whom
resettled in Lincoln, Nebraska, because they were given special visas
to come to America because they worked side by side with our soldiers
during the Iraq war as translators. Because of the grave threat that
they were under, they were given special privileges to become citizens
here, and many settled in my State of Nebraska, my hometown, Lincoln.
I have been working with the community for a number of years about a
number of concerns. About a year and a half ago, a group came to see
me. Young men who had worked as translators were on the verge of tears.
They were passionate and angry. I don't blame them for being angry.
Their mothers, their sisters, and their family members were trapped on
Mount Sinjar. They were pleading with me: Congressman, act. Do
something now. We can't wait.
To the Obama administration's credit, shortly thereafter--and the
House had passed a resolution creating some groundwork for trying to
stop the annihilation of Yazidis--the Obama administration, President
Obama, acted, and I am thankful for that.
This week we have an opportunity to continue to plead and urge the
State Department to act as well. I know they are under an evaluation as
to this real genocide that is happening. I respect their process, but I
think the facts are clear; and it is my sincere hope that Secretary
Kerry and the State Department will meet their lawful deadline this
week and declare this fact: there is a genocide against Christians and
Yazidis, and civilization itself is at stake.
I thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) for yielding me the
time.
Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my
time.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, first of all, I want to thank
Mr. Fortenberry for his very eloquent remarks and for reminding us that
this is an existential threat to Christians, but really, as well, to
civilization. I thank him again for the resolution.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Staten Island,
New York (Mr. Donovan). He is a member of the Foreign Affairs
Committee.
Mr. DONOVAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend from New Jersey (Mr.
Smith) for allowing me this time to express and rise in support of H.
Con. Res. 75.
When considering the long history of civilization, we look back in
horror at the unimaginable pain mankind is capable of inflicting on
itself, and each succeeding generation wonders how a people stood idly
by as warring factions destroyed innocent life and property.
Last year, the world watched a beach turned red as executioners sawed
off the heads of 21 Coptic Christians on the shores of the
Mediterranean Sea. Two weeks ago, terrorists stormed a retirement home
full of nuns caring for the elderly and frail. And in the months in
between, ISIS systemically killed or enslaved thousands of Yazidi
people.
Scripture speaks of perseverance and endurance in faith under siege
and not growing weary. Matthew says:
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of their
righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.
But that doesn't excuse our silence. Political correctness cannot
stand in the way of our moral obligation as a free and decent people. I
support the resolution and hope we can have the moral conviction to
call this massacre what it is: genocide.
Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the
gentleman from Texas, Judge Poe, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs
Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade.
Mr. POE of Texas. I thank the gentleman for yielding time.
Mr. Speaker, ISIS, this evil group, has been intentionally targeting
Christians worldwide because of their religious belief. ISIS not only
targets Christians, it targets any religious group, including some
Muslims who disagree with them.
As the previous speaker from New York mentioned, they are proud of
the fact that they murder people, that they behead people, and that
they put their murders on television for the world to see. These
atrocities committed by this terrorist group in the name of a perverted
jihad religion are the worst crimes we have seen in our lifetime.
[[Page H1317]]
More than that, ISIS' massacres of religious and ethnic minorities
fits the definition of genocide. The definition of genocide is clear.
It is the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial or cultural
group. That is exactly what ISIS is doing. ISIS has already forced
hundreds of thousands of Christians to leave their ancestral homes.
{time} 1630
For the first time since Jesus, there are almost no Christians left
in this part of the world. There were 1.5 million Christians in Iraq in
2003--1.5 million. Since that time, terrorists have either killed or
forced Christians to run for their lives.
Today, 13 years later, there are 66 percent fewer Christians in this
area. Some of those who could not get out before ISIS came in and took
over their areas have been tortured, crucified, executed, and murdered
in the most inhumane possible ways, tortured because of their belief.
ISIS has not only targeted Christians, it has targeted other
communities. The Yazidi community of Iraq has been tortured. ISIS
slaughtered almost all of the men in one community on Mount Sinjar and
then sold the women and the girls off into slavery, this demonic desire
of theirs, and gave them to their fighters. It is just another example
of tragic cases of genocide in world history.
ISIS will not stop, Mr. Speaker, exterminating these people, until
they bow down to their ideology, and their ideology is based on hate.
ISIS does not just target those under its control. The terrorists seek
to cleanse the world, the whole world, from all people who do not
accept their belief, including other Muslims.
It is time the United States and the rest of the world make it clear
to all what ISIS is doing. We must denounce murder, this genocide, that
is occurring because of people's religious belief.
I am glad that this resolution is coming forward. I am proud to be a
cosponsor of H. Con. Res. 75.
Mr. Speaker, justice demands ISIS be held accountable for what it
does. Justice must be done. After all, isn't justice what we do in the
United States?
And that is just the way it is.
Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I commend the gentleman from Texas for his
speech and the gentleman from Nebraska who spoke earlier for his
introduction of this resolution, along with my colleague, Anna Eshoo,
from California. And, of course, I commend Chris Smith for a lifetime
of work on human rights.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes to
close.
I thank my good friend, Mr. Sherman, for his good, bipartisan, strong
remarks expressed today during both of these debates on the war crimes
tribunal and now on Mr. Fortenberry's genocide resolution, another
bipartisan piece of legislation.
I want to thank my colleagues for their moving words today. Judge
Poe, again, hit the nail right on the head, as did our friend from New
York.
I think we need to say it and we need to say it with exclamation
points, that declaring genocide is a solemn and extremely serious step
not to be taken lightly.
I am very proud of the work that the Foreign Affairs Committee did. I
want to thank our chairman, Ed Royce, and the ranking member, Eliot
Engel, for their work on this resolution.
All of us understand the seriousness of calling crimes genocide. It
represents an assertion that a legal definition has been met and that
we are witnessing acts of physical and mental violence intended to
destroy a group in whole or in part.
The targeted depravity of ISIS against the Yazidis, Christians, and
other minorities more--I will say it again--more than meets that
definition.
But far more than the legality, speaking clearly of genocide, is an
appeal to the conscience of the world. It evokes the moral gravity and
the imperative of never again.
The United States must not wait any longer to find its voice and call
these bloody purges what they are: genocide. We and our partners must
defeat ISIS so that Christians, Yazidis, all religious communities, and
all the people of Syria and Iraq, can live in peace, free from this
grotesque persecution.
I urge passage of the resolution.
I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) that the House suspend the rules
and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 75, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and
nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
____________________