ISIS' Sex Slavery, Crucifixions of Christians Are 'Historical Atrocities' but UN Remains Silent: ACLJ
The Islamic State's mass beheadings, sex slavery, and crucifixion of Christians are "historical atrocities" the United Nations is refusing to address and take action against, the American Center for Law and Justice says.
"We must act to stop ... the evil actions taken by ISIS to intimidate and eliminate Christians and other religious minorities from the face of the Earth," the conservative law group said in a statement in which it described the war crimes being committed by the terror group.
"The United Nations must lead the world in meeting our international legal and moral obligations," it added.
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The ACLJ said Thursday that it has sent a letter to Nikki Haley, the permanent representative of the United States to the U.N., urging the U.S. government to press its international allies in taking action against the genocide.
"Since March 17, 2016, it has been the official position of the U.S. that ISIS is committing genocide against Christians and other religious minorities, and we urge you to further that official U.S. policy at the United Nations," said the letter sent to Haley.
"It is imperative that the United Nations formally recognize that the ongoing atrocities committed by ISIS against Christians, Yazidis, and other religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq, Syria, and elsewhere constitute genocide for purposes of implicating the obligations of the international community pursuant to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and the well-established responsibility to protect the victims of genocide," it adds.
The law group called on "swift and decisive action" to put an end to the atrocities carried out against religious minorities, and argued that the U.N.'s own Charter dictates that in-region protection and safe-zones are established for victims.
The latest update also linked to a petition signed by over 277,000 people calling for an end to the genocide and protection for Christians in Iraq and Syria.
IS has released videos such as "A Message Signed With Blood to the Nation of the Cross" in 2014, where militants beheaded 21 Coptic Christians for their faith, directly threatening to kill more believers.
The radicals' brutality has forced millions to flee their homes in Iraq and Syria as refugees, including many Christians.
The ACLJ has questioned the U.N.'s silence on a number of occasions despite well-documented evidence on the specific targeting of Christians and other minorities.
Back in February, it sent a letter through its European affiliate, the European Center for Law and Justice, directly to the global organization.
"We need action now. The U.N. must defend the rights of all religious minorities, including the Christians in Iraq, Syria, and any other place where the Islamic State engages in genocide," read the letter back then.
The U.N. has acknowledged that IS is committing a genocide against Yazidis, such as in a June 2016 statement by the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, but it has yet to include Christians in that recognition.
