Secretary of State John Kerry declared on Thursday that the atrocities committed by ISIS against Christians, Yazidis, Shia Muslims, and other groups is genocide.
"My purpose in appearing before you today is to assert that, in my judgment, Daesh is responsible for genocide against groups in areas under its control, including Yezidis, Christians, and Shia Muslims," Kerry said, using the acronym for Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Arabic.
"Daesh is genocidal by self-proclamation, by ideology, and by actions - in what it says, what it believes, and what it does," he continued. "Daesh is also responsible for crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing directed at these same groups and in some cases also against Sunni Muslims, Kurds, and other minorities."
Kerry's statement comes after months of pressure from religious groups as well as lawmakers. Congress had required Kerry to make a decision on whether to call ISIS' actions as 'genocide' by March 17, a deadline which was included in a budget measure passed late last year.
The House of Representatives also voted 393-0 to pass a resolution which urged the Obama administration to declare that "those who commit or support atrocities" against other religious minorities are committing "war crimes," "crimes against humanity," and "genocide."
Christian groups have also been pressuring the Obama administration to call the atrocities "genocide," as multiple letters have been sent and a 278-page report was submitted to the State Department, detailing that there is sufficient evidence to call ISIS' actions against Christians and other religious minorities as genocide.
Kerry clarified during his statement that he is "neither judge, nor prosecutor, nor jury with respect to the allegations of genocide, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing by specific persons," and said that the facts must be investigated "by a competent court or tribunal."
Instead, he said his hopes in using the term 'genocide' would "assure the victims of Daesh's atrocities that the United States recognizes and confirms the despicable nature of the crimes that have been committed against them."
Experts debate whether the State Department's decision to use the term will bring along with it any specific obligations in terms of policy changes or actions from the U.S. government.
According to Mark Toner, the State Department spokesman, such a determination "would not necessarily result in any particular legal obligation for the United States."
Others argue that using the term could pressure the government for the use of greater military force against ISIS, and to also welcome more refugees into the U.S.
In Defense of Christians, one of the organizations that co-authored the 278-page report submitted to the State Department, extended their "deepest gratitude to Secretary Kerry and to the Obama administration for carefully reviewing the overwhelming evidence of the genocide against Christians, Yazidis, Shia Muslims, and other religious minorities and for proclaiming the irrefutable truth that the crimes they have suffered constitute genocide."
"By joining its voice to that of the House of Representatives, the American people, and the international community, the United States today makes clear to ISIS that its attempt to stamp out religious minorities must cease," Carl Anderson, the CEO of the Knights of Columbus said in a statement.
