Kerry to miss deadline on Islamic State genocide question

By

Matthew Lee, The Associated Press

FIL – In this March 9, 2016, file photo, Secretary of State John Kerry speaks to reporters at the State Department in Washington. The Obama administration is nearing a decision on whether to formally declare that Islamic State group atrocities against religious minorities, including Christians, constitute “genocide.” Kerry is leaning toward making the determination and could do so as early as next week, when a congressional deadline for action has been set, according to several administration officials. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

WASHINGTON — A State Department spokesman says Secretary of State John Kerry will miss Congress’s deadline for deciding whether atrocities by the Islamic State against Christians and other minorities in Iraq and Syria should be considered genocide.

Spokesman Mark Toner says Kerry is taking a “measured” approach and his decision would come soon.

Toner says officials at the State Department, intelligence agencies and non-governmental organizations are providing evidence and “if this delays the process, it’s worth it.”

Congress set a March 17 deadline for Kerry, and the House passed a non-binding resolution this week condemning the Islamic State actions as genocide ahead of the State Department’s decision.

A genocide determination could require additional U.S. military or diplomatic action, or prompt a referral to the U.N. for possible prosecution by a criminal tribunal.

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Matthew Lee, The Associated Press