Nina Shea Discusses the "Genocide" Vote — Transcript

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1. 0:01Secretary of State John kery today
2. 0:03declared that Isis atrocities against
3. 0:05yezidis Christians and Shia Muslims
4. 0:08amount to genocide many groups have been
5. 0:11calling on Cary to make that designation
6. 0:13and Nina Shay is the director of the
7. 0:15center for Religious Freedom At The
8. 0:16Hudson Institute she joins us now to
9. 0:19explain what this means and how will it
10. 0:21affect those groups going forward Nina I
11. 0:23know that Many religious rights
12. 0:25Advocates you included have been calling
13. 0:26on the US to call this genocide why is
14. 0:29that so important
15. 0:30it's a critically important step and it
16. 0:32really shouldn't have been this
17. 0:33difficult because Isis is uh reviled by
18. 0:36the entire world and everybody knows
19. 0:39that they have been uh shattering these
20. 0:41communities especially the Christian and
21. 0:44yazidi communities and there's been a
22. 0:46hang-up because the administration was
23. 0:49reluctant to name the Christians among
24. 0:52the groups that are suffering genocide
25. 0:55so it's important for the sake of
26. 0:57justice that Christians are acknowledged
27. 0:59in this way and that all the groups that
28. 1:01suffer genocide are um you know we
29. 1:04haven't we we've been seeing in real
30. 1:06time in tecta color the beheadings and
31. 1:10the other atrocities that have been
32. 1:11Fallen these uh Christian communities at
33. 1:14the hands of Isis there are also
34. 1:18pragmatic reasons um why the genocide
35. 1:21designation is so important um the uh
36. 1:25Christians um have been pushed off their
37. 1:27land by Terror the survivors that that
38. 1:30is the ones who haven't been killed or
39. 1:31were enslaved and those land rights are
40. 1:35now up for grabs so it's important that
41. 1:39they be remunerated and restored to
42. 1:42their property and lands number one um
43. 1:45they have been marginalized in the US
44. 1:48Refugee resettlement programs um so they
45. 1:51need to get at least their fair share of
46. 1:54uh visas to come to the United States
47. 1:56for those who want to come who are
48. 1:58desperate to get out and never want to
49. 1:59go back because they're so deeply
50. 2:01traumatized many of them um they also uh
51. 2:04need to be assured of us reconstruction
52. 2:07Aid to rebuild their Villages and towns
53. 2:11and cities and churches and this did not
54. 2:14happen after the US surge about 10 years
55. 2:18ago in Iraq they were they really fell
56. 2:20through the cracks and other larger
57. 2:22groups took the money that was we
58. 2:24thought was going to the the minorities
59. 2:26as well including the Christians so
60. 2:29these are some of the reasons why it's
61. 2:30absolutely important one other you know
62. 2:33issue that really is very current right
63. 2:36now is the uh peace talks that are going
64. 2:39on in Syria there's no Christian voice
65. 2:41at those peace talks and this there
66. 2:44going probably going to be peace talks
67. 2:45in Iraq at some point as well um but
68. 2:47right now there are Syrian peace talks
69. 2:49and there are going to be borders
70. 2:51redrawn constitutions redrafted it's
71. 2:54absolutely essential that the Christians
72. 2:56have a voice in this process or they
73. 2:58will have no place in the new Syria and
74. 3:01in the new Iraq so will this declaration
75. 3:03then give them that opportunity because
76. 3:05some say that just declaring a genocide
77. 3:08is words on paper so what is the
78. 3:10Practical impact do you see anything
79. 3:13happening well there in Secretary Ker's
80. 3:17speech there were some um points that
81. 3:20were being made about uh land and
82. 3:22property rights so that's a beginning
83. 3:24but um I've already been uh talking to
84. 3:26the state department today and um we
85. 3:30beginning the discussions and that's
86. 3:31what's going to take this whole
87. 3:33Coalition really U of all of us that
88. 3:35came together to push for the genocide
89. 3:38designation now have to come together to
90. 3:40push for these other um important policy
91. 3:44issues by the United States it's not
92. 3:46going to happen on its own um these
93. 3:49people don't cause trouble therefore
94. 3:50they get no attention but Nina is the US
95. 3:54really required to take any action at
96. 3:55all now that it's been labeled genocide
97. 3:57I guess legally you don't actually have
98. 3:59to take action it's just a suggestion is
99. 4:02it not well legally they have to uh
100. 4:06protect and prevent genocide protect the
101. 4:09victims and prevent it from occurring
102. 4:11again it does not specifi specify really
103. 4:15what needs to be done um but you know
104. 4:18there there has to be continual
105. 4:20continual pressure this is the very
106. 4:22first step but it's a critical First
107. 4:24Step um if we didn't have this then
108. 4:27there would be no uh particular tension
109. 4:29paid on these groups so it's an
110. 4:31absolutely important starting point okay
111. 4:34what do you see happening now
112. 4:36Nina well I see uh working very um
113. 4:40energetically because we're in a
114. 4:43transitional period in this government
115. 4:45in our own government in Washington um
116. 4:48we can't afford to lose you know the
117. 4:50next uh nine months or or a year before
118. 4:54the next Administration is fully staffed
119. 4:56up and and ready to turn their uh policy
120. 4:59attention to this we have to get this
121. 5:01out now it's going to be a very critical
122. 5:03time and as I said the Syrian peace
123. 5:05talks there's been some movement in the
124. 5:07past week with Russia pulling out and
125. 5:08Assad being forced now to make maybe
126. 5:11make some concessions in Syria it's
127. 5:13going to be very very important for the
128. 5:15Christian voice and and these other
129. 5:17minorities to have their voices elevated
130. 5:18particularly the Christians in Syria
131. 5:20there aren't that many Ides there at all
132. 5:22they about 40,000 or so 80,000 um and
133. 5:25the Shiites of course have power through
134. 5:27Iran it's only the Christians really
135. 5:29don't have any protectors and no
136. 5:30militias of their own and no power so we
137. 5:33really need to push for that right right
138. 5:35now so we back what you're really saying
139. 5:38is let's not let up that just because we
140. 5:41have this designation now don't relax
141. 5:43about it it's no time it's no time to
142. 5:45let up the pressure we need to keep
143. 5:47moving forward if if we want to make
144. 5:49sure these Christians see Justice if
145. 5:52that they have a right to stay in the
146. 5:54region or if they want to leave they
147. 5:57have a right to come here and be
148. 5:58resettled along with the other um
149. 6:00refugees that we're bringing in okay
150. 6:02Nina Shay thanks so much for joining us
151. 6:04thank you