2016 Victories: The U.S. Recognizes the “Genocide Against … Christians”

This is the latest installment in a year-end series looking back at a few of the many victories by the ACLJ in 2016.

In a major victory for Christians facing genocide in the Middle East, the ACLJ was able to celebrate a number of monumental steps forward in our ongoing fight to end the genocide and protect our fellow Christians from ISIS (Islamic State) terror.

This year, multiple international bodies, including the European Parliament, recognized the “genocide against Christians.” Our international affiliate in Europe was instrumental in these determinations.

The U.S. House of Representatives has unanimously declared that the atrocities being committed by ISIS constitute genocide against Christians and other religious minorities.

Then after a years long fight, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry finally recognized the ISIS is committing “genocide against . . . Christians.”  This was a monumental step in our 7-point plan to stop the genocide and protect Christians.

By securing international recognition of this brutal genocide, efforts to provide aid and support to the victims become much more efficient. Official recognition allows these innocent men, women, and children to obtain vital legal protections from ISIS’s slaughter. But our fight did not stop there.

In May, we celebrated yet another victory for our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ when the U.S. House of Representatives agreed with our plan to create in-region safe zones for refugees in the Middle East. They approved a crucial amendment which calls for the establishment of refugee safe zones.

Despite the ongoing genocide being waged by ISIS, despite the constant slaughter and horrific attempts to exterminate Christians and other religious minorities from the Middle East, we have renewed hope that this genocide will come to an end. With your help, we will continue to advocate for the victims of this brutal violence. In fact, in our lawsuit against the State Department demanding answers about what actions are being taken to meet our international obligations in the face of genocide, the Obama Administration must begin providing answers to us before the end of the year.

With your support, we will continue aggressively fighting here at home and across the globe to end the evil scourge of this genocide and protect dying Christians.

To help the ACLJ continue to have the resources we need to make these victories possible and continue these fights, please consider making a Tax-Deductible donation to the ACLJ through our year-end Matching Challenge. Your gift will be doubled dollar-for-dollar through the end of the year.

You can read more in the ACLJ’s 2016 Victories series here.

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