Press Release
Another House-passed Smith bill will provide humanitarian aid to genocide victimsAuthor of Religious Freedom Law Praises Tillerson for Calling ISIS Atrocities “Genocide”Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Chairman of the House panel on global human rights, today praised Secretary of State Rex Tillerson for highlighting the ongoing genocide of Christians, Yezidis and minority Muslims at the hands of ISIS in the “International Religious Freedom Report.” In the preface of the report, released this morning, Tillerson says, “ISIS is clearly responsible for genocide against Yezidis, Christians and Shia Muslims in areas it controlled.” “I want to commend Secretary Tillerson for focusing on those who have been victims of genocide,” said Smith. “These groups are looking for help and leadership, and I am proud that after eight years of denial and foot dragging, this report positions the United States to become a world leader in helping those who need it most.” “The report rightly shows that China’s religious freedom conditions are among the world’s worst. The Chinese government is an equal opportunity abuser of the rights of Protestants, Catholics, Tibetan Buddhists, Uyghur Muslims and Falun Gong practitioners—all who face imprisonment and torture for practicing their faith.” Smith added, “Through highlighting the atrocious state of religious freedom in places like Vietnam, Pakistan, Nigeria, and Syria—with individuals who simply want to worship in peace being beaten, jailed, tortured or worse—this report is a step in the right direction. The more difficult step will be to place these countries or non-state actors like ISIS and Boko Haram on the U.S. blacklist of severe religious freedom violators. Such designations could include sanctions.” Last Congress, Smith was the prime author of the bipartisan Frank Wolf International Religious Freedom Act (P.L. 114-281), which was signed into law last December. Smith’s law gives the State Department more tools and training to address genocide and religious freedom abuses globally. The legislation also requires subsequent reports to be issued on May 1st each year, so that information about the previous year’s country conditions are up to date. The legislation also requires annual designations of countries as “Countries of Particular Concern” for religious freedom abuses and created a new designation called the “Entity of Particular Concern” that targets non-state actors complicit in genocide or religious persecution. More information on the Frank Wolf International Religious Freedom Act can be found here. “The report is an important tool in identifying problems worldwide—but it is just a start. We must take action on what is found in the report,” said Smith. To that end, Smith authored H.R. 390, the bipartisan Iraq and Syria Genocide Emergency Relief and Accountability Act—legislation that passed the House in June yet awaits action in the Senate. “I urge my colleagues in the Senate to bring up and pass H.R. 390 without delay. The victims of genocide highlighted in this report depend on it,” said Smith. Among other key provisions, H.R. 390 authorizes funds for entities that have proven to be effective in providing humanitarian aid on-the-ground to genocide survivors from religious and ethnic minorities, along with several other key provisions. More info on H.R. 390 can be found here. The International Religious Freedom Report is a yearly report to highlight religious freedom issues worldwide and was created by the International Religious Freedom Act 1998. This year’s report can be found here. ### |