Rep. Chris Smith on Kerry Declaring ISIS is Committing Anti-Christian Genocide: ‘Now What?’
(CNSNews.com) – Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) on Thursday applauded Secretary of State John Kerry’s decision [1] to call the ISIS atrocities in Iraq and Syria against Christians and other religious minorities “genocide,” but also asked [2], “Now what?”
“I—and many others—had been appealing to the Administration for almost three years to recognize the systematic slaughter, rape and torture of Christians and other people of faith by ISIS as genocide,” Smith, chairman of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, said. “I chaired my first hearing on this in June of 2013. Last December 9, I chaired an emergency hearing on the hoped for designation.”
“Now what?” Smith asked.
Smith argued in his statement that part of the answer to that question is in a resolution that passed the House of Representatives on Monday along with Rep. Jeff Fortenberry’s (R-Neb.) resolution designating ISIS atrocities against religious minorities as genocide.
Smith’s companion resolution [3], which passed the House by a vote of 392-3 on Monday, calls for the establishment of a Syrian war crimes tribunal and asks specifically “the President to direct the U.S. representative to the United Nations to promote the establishment of a Syrian war crimes tribunal; and other nations to apprehend and deliver into tribunal custody any persons indicted for war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide in Syria.”
Smith quoted the International Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide [4] (Genocide Convention) signed by the United States in 1948, which defines “genocide” as killing and certain other acts “committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.”
“The Genocide Convention does have legal force, though the Convention only provides general guidance,” Smith explained. “Article I of the Genocide Convention obligates States to ‘undertake to prevent and to punish’ genocide and article IV states that ‘Persons committing genocide ... shall be punished,’ but does not specify how that would work.”
“Article VI further mandates that persons charged with genocide shall be ‘tried by a competent tribunal of the State in the territory of which the act was committed, or by such international penal tribunal as may have jurisdiction,’” he added.
Smith concluded that “a court in the jurisdiction where the genocide occurred, i.e., Syria, is next to impossible as a practical matter, leaving the work of bringing these mass killers to justice to an international tribunal.”
Smith dismissed the International Criminal Court (ICC) as “a non-starter” arguing that “beyond being utterly ineffective just two convictions since 2002—neither Iraq nor Syria (nor the United States, for that matter) have ratified the Rome Statute that created the ICC, and it would be a waste of political and moral energy to try to get an ICC referral.”
ICC Deputy Prosecutor James Stewart acknowledged in a February discussion [5] of ISIS atrocities that the court’s hands were tied because “the leadership of IS seems to be made up of individuals from Syria and Iraq, not state party nationals,” which Stewart said has created “a constraint on the prosecutor’s ability to react.”
“What is possible – and what my House passed resolution calls for – is an ad hoc regional tribunal, which is far more flexible than the ICC and which has proven effective in Sierra Leone, Rwanda and former Yugoslavia,” Smith said. “In contrast with the ICC, the Yugoslavia court convicted 80 people; Rwanda, 61; and Sierra Leone, 9. Moreover, a tribunal focused on Syria that provides Syrians with a degree of ownership would enhance its effectiveness.”
“A Syria tribunal would hold not only the genocidiers of ISIS but all parties—especially the war criminal Bashar al-Assad, who has barrel-bombed Syrian civilians and killed tens of thousands—accountable for their horrific deeds,” he added.
“Congress’ message for the White House in the twin in-tandem resolutions passed Monday was clear: declare that ISIS has committed genocide against Christians, Yezidis and others.” Smith concluded. “Then work with the United Nations Security Council to create an effective tribunal to bring about justice for the victims of genocide.”
Fortenberry, whose resolution designating ISIS atrocities against religious minorities as genocide unanimously passed the House earlier this week, applauded Kerry’s announcement Thursday.
"I commend Secretary Kerry and the State Department for making this important designation. The genocide against Christians, Yezidis, and others is not only a grave injustice to these ancient faith communities — it is an assault on human dignity and an attack on civilization itself. The United States has now spoken with clarity and moral authority,” Fortenberry said in a statement via email.
“I sincerely hope that the genocide designation will raise international consciousness, end the scandal of silence, and create the preconditions for the protection and reintegration of these ancient faith communities into their ancestral homelands,” Fortenberry emphasized. “Christians, Yezidis, and others remain an essential part of the Middle East's rich tapestry of religious and ethnic diversity. They now have new cause for hope.”
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http://cnsnews.com/news/article/lauretta-brown/rep-chris-smith-kerrys-designation-isis-atrocities-against-christians 
