United States declares IS crimes 'genocide'

The Islamic State (IS) group is carrying out genocide against the Christian, Yazidi and Shia minorities on its territory in Iraq and Syria, the United States declared on Thursday.

"Daesh is genocidal by self-proclamation, by ideology and by actions, in what it says, what it believes and what it does," Secretary of State John Kerry said, using the US government's preferred term for the group.

"Daesh is also responsible for crimes against humanity against these same groups," Kerry said in Washington.

“Naming these crimes is important, but what is essential is to stop them," he added.

Washington's senior diplomat made the ruling after the US Congress unanimously voted on Monday to designate the group's murders of religious minorities genocidal, a move which has international legal implications.

Kerry emphasized that he is "neither judge nor prosecutor nor jury with respect to the allegations" and that all criminal charges has to be borne out of an independent international investigation. However, Kerry added that the US would aid any investigation by documenting violations and collecting evidence.

Congress also called for a special tribunal to be set up, under UN authority, to investigate war crimes in Syria.

The White House also said it was ready to support an investigation by the International Criminal Court into alledged genocide carried out by IS in Syria and Iraq.

"The United States will cooperate with independent efforts to investigate genocide," said spokesman Josh Earnest, adding that the adminstration is willing to support the ICC in gathering evidence.

Congress had set Thursday as a deadline for Kerry to respond to the vote and announce whether IS’s actions would be legally considered genocide.

Kerry’s declaration marks only the second time the US has declared a genocide during an ongoing conflict – the first was for atrocities being carried in Sudan’s Darfur region.

That decision was taken by then-Secretary of State Colin Powell only after State Department lawyers ensured him that the designation would not mean the US was legally obliged to act to stop the human rights violations.

Thursday’s announcement, similarly, is likely to have little impact on the ongoing US-led military campaign against the group.

The US currently leads a coalition of Western and Arab allies to strike IS targets from the air and to support Iraqi government and Kurdish and Syrian militia forces against the group.