,,iv  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,h4 ,,res4 #bei  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of
 ,,representatives  ,march #bg1         
#bjai,mr4 ,fortenberry 7for himself and 
,ms4 ,eshoo7 submitted the following    
resolution2 which was referred to the   
,committee on ,foreign ,affairs         
,,resolution  ,expressing the sense of  
the ,house of ,representatives to       
support the repatriation of religious   
and ethnic minorities in ,iraq to their 
ancestral homelands4  ,whereas the      
,nineveh ,plain and the wider region    
have been the ancestral homeland of     
,assyrian ,chaldean ,syriac ,christians1
 ,yazidis1 ,shabak1 and other religious 
and ethnic minorities1 where they lived 
for centuries until the ,islamic ,state 
of ,iraq and ,syria 7,,isis7 overran and
 occupied the area in #bjad2 ,whereas1  
in #bjaf1 then-,secretary of ,state     
,john ,kerry announced1 ,in my judgment 
,daesh is responsible for genocide      
against groups in areas under its       
control1 including ,yezidis1            

,christians1 and ,shia ,muslims4 ,daesh 
is genocidal by self-proclamation1 by   
ideology1 and by actions--in what it    
says1 what it believes1 and what it     
does4 ,daesh is also responsible for    
crimes against humanity and ethnic      
cleansing directed at these same groups 
and in some cases also against ,sunni   
,muslims1 ,kurds1 and other minorities42
 ,whereas these atrocities were         
undertaken with the specific intent to  
bring about the eradication and         
displacement of ,christians1 ,yazidis1  
and other communities and the           
destruction of their cultural heritage1 
in violation of the ,united ,nations    
,convention on the ,prevention and      
,punishment of the ,crime of ,genocide2 
,whereas1 in #bjaf1 the ,house of       
,representatives passed ,h4 ,con4 ,res4 
#ge expressing the sense of the ,house  
of ,representatives that the atrocities 
perpetrated by ,,isis against religious 
and ethnic minorities in ,iraq and      
,syria include war crimes1 crimes       

against humanity1 and genocide2 ,whereas
 it is consistent with the commitments  
of ,iraq1 the ,kurdish ,regional        
,government1 the ,united ,states1 and   
the international community to guarantee
 the restoration of fundamental human   
rights1 including property rights1 to   
genocide victims1 and to see that ethnic
 and religious pluralism survives in    
,iraq2 ,whereas ,president ,trump issued
 orders to defeat ,,isis1 and with the  
joint efforts of the ,united ,states and
 #gi allies and partners1 ,,isis has    
been edged out of large swaths of       
territory in ,iraq and ,syria that it   
once controlled2 ,whereas1 in ,july     
#bjah1 under the direction of ,vice     
,president ,pence1 the ,genocide        
,recovery and ,persecution ,response    
,program has partnered the ,department  
of ,state and the ,united ,states       
,agency for ,international ,development 
with local faith and community leaders  
to rapidly deliver aid to persecuted    
communities1 beginning with ,iraq2      

,whereas ,christians in ,iraq once      
numbered over #a4e million in #bjjc and 
have dwindled to less than #bjj1jjj     
today2 ,whereas armed militia groups    
linked to ,iran and operating in ,sinjar
 and the ,nineveh ,plains are increasing
 the instability and insecurity of      
northern ,iraq1 preventing the          
conditions for local and indigenous     
minorities to return to their homelands2
 ,whereas ,iraqi religious minorities   
have faced challenges in integrating    
into the ,iraqi ,security ,forces and   
,kurdish ,peshmerga2 and ,whereas       
facilitating the success of communities 
in ,sinjar and the ,nineveh ,plains     
requires a commitment from              
international1 ,iraqi1 ,kurdish1 and    
local authorities1 in partnership with  
local faith leaders1 to promote the     
safety and security of all people1      
especially religious and ethnic         
minorities3 ,now1 therefore1 be it      
,that it is the sense of the ,house of  
,representatives that-- 7#a7 it should  

be a policy priority of the ,united     
,states1 working with international     
partners1 the ,government of ,iraq1 the 
,kurdistan ,regional ,government1 and   
local populations1 to support the safe  
return of displaced indigenous people of
 the ,nineveh ,plain and ,sinjar to     
their ancestral homeland2  7#b7 ,iraqi  
,security ,forces and the ,kurdish      
,peshmerga should work to more fully    
integrate all communities1 including    
religious minority communities to       
counter current and future terrorist    
threats2 and  7#c7 the ,united ,states1 
working with international allies and   
partners1 should coordinate efforts to  
provide for the safe return and future  
security of religious minorities in the 
,nineveh ,plain and ,sinjar4