INTRODUCING THE IRAQ AND SYRIA GENOCIDE RELIEF AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2016; Congressional Record Vol. 162, No. 136

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INTRODUCING THE IRAQ AND SYRIA GENOCIDE RELIEF AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT

OF 2016

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HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

of new jersey

in the house of representatives

Friday, September 9, 2016

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce \[H.R.

5961\](https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/5961), the Iraq and Syria Genocide Relief and Accountability Act of

2016. Since ISIS' blitzkrieg across the multiethnic and religiously

diverse mosaic of eastern Syria and western Iraq in 2014, I have

chaired four hearings focused on the implications of this appalling

advance for religious and ethnic minorities in those areas. Events in

the region and the expert testimony of witnesses quickly revealed that

ISIS was not merely focused on territorial conquest--the group was

ideologically committed to exterminating ancient religious communities

and cleansing its self-proclaimed caliphate of anything but its vicious

and fundamentalist interpretation of Islam. Many of my colleagues and I

were certain early on that ISIS was committing genocide. We pressed the

Administration to formally acknowledge that fact until the Secretary of

State did so in March of this year. But the most pressing question

issue has always been the lives of those religious minorities right now

that face extinction under this tyranny of terror.

The Iraq and Syria Genocide Relief and Accountability Act of 2016 is

an answer to the question of what the United States can do to mitigate

this suffering, save lives, and build a more sustainable future for

Syria and Iraq. The bill tackles this overwhelming challenge on three

fronts by directing the Administration to take additional measures to

improve the lives of displaced genocide survivors, provide some of them

with an additional lifeline to escape their war torn lands, and support

efforts that will help preserve the presence of religious minority

communities in those areas for years to come.

In a hearing this May that I chaired called \\\`\\\`The ISIS Genocide

Declaration: What Next?''

\\\[\\\[\[Page\](https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record/volume-162/extensions-of-remarks-section/page/E1232) \[E1232\](https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record/volume-162/extensions-of-remarks-section/page/E1232)\\\]\\\]

Carl Anderson, Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus--who has been

a leader in drawing attention to the plight of Christians in this

conflict--testified that \\\`\\\`Repeatedly we hear from Church leaders in

the region that Christians--and other genocide survivors--are last in

line for assistance from governments.'' We can and must do better. To

that end, \[H.R. 5961\](https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/5961) requires the Administration to assess and address

the humanitarian vulnerabilities, needs, and triggers to flee, of

religious and ethnic communities that were targeted for genocide or

otherwise severely persecuted. It directs the Administration to fund

entities that are effectively providing assistance to these communities

and guarantees that faith-based organizations on the ground are not

excluded from U.S. assistance.

One such example is the Chaldean Catholic Archdiocese of Erbil,

which provides assistance to internally displaced families of Yezidis,

Muslims, and Christians, including food and resettlement from tents to

permanent housing, as well as rental assistance, for Yezidis, medical

care and education to Yezidis and Muslims through its clinics, schools,

and university--which are open to everyone. The Archdiocese provides

some form of each of these kinds of assistance to all of the estimated

10,500 internally displaced Christian families in the greater Erbil

region. Yet as it provides these critical services, it has not received

a single penny from any government. \[H.R. 5961\](https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/5961) is clear that the

Administration must be supporting entities, regardless of whether they

are faith-based, that are heroically providing assistance to genocide

survivors on the ground.

In recognition of the extraordinary suffering of these religious and

ethnic communities, and their extraordinary vulnerability to

persecution, \[H.R. 5961\](https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/5961) requires the Administration to create a Priority

Two, or \\\`\\\`P-2,'' visa category of special humanitarian concern that

would provide one additional avenue for genocide survivors to seek

resettlement in the United States through the U.S. Refugee Admissions

Program. It is important to note that this is not a \\\`\\\`fast track'' to

resettlement--P-2 applicants undergo the same security screening as all

refugee applicants. But this special category allows them to access an

overseas interview wherever the United States interviews refugee

applicants, without needing a referral from the UN, an NGO, or a US

Embassy, as is usually the case.

This bill also addresses a critical factor that will influence the

continued presence of smaller, vulnerable religious communities in

Syria and Iraq beyond this conflict: accountability for those who

perpetrate heinous crimes against them. \[H.R. 5961\](https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/5961) directs the

Administration to prioritize supporting the criminal investigation,

prosecution, and conviction of perpetrators of genocide, crimes against

humanity, and war crimes. These efforts will be focused on funding and

supporting entities that are conducting criminal investigations,

building Syrian and Iraqi investigative and judicial capacity, or

collecting and preserving evidence for eventual use in domestic courts,

hybrid courts, or internationalized domestic courts. Whether they are

members of the Assad regime, ISIS, or some of the Popular Mobilization

Brigades in Iraq, there can be no impunity for individuals who

committed these dreadful crimes.

\[H.R. 5961\](https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/5961) also directs the Administration to identify gaps in our

criminal statutes to facilitate the prosecution of American

perpetrators, and non-Americans present in the United States, of crimes

against humanity and war crimes.

Without accountability, without humanitarian assistance reaching

these religious and ethnic communities, we risk losing the invaluable,

ancient presence of these communities in these countries altogether.

This will feed violent extremism and dim the future of Iraq and Syria.

I urge my House colleagues to support this measure that will deliver

immediate assistance to genocide survivors, help prosecute and punish

perpetrators, and invest in a sustainable future for these persecuted

religious and ethnic communities in the lands in which they have lived

for so many generations.

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