THE MITCHELL FIRM, INC. for CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY INTERNATIONAL
What was lobbied
One issue area, each in the filer's own words, with who lobbied on it and where.
Foreign Relations FOR
On behalf of 73 organizations and individuals, including the client, who signed a multi-faith letter, made contacts in support of H. Con. Res. 75, a resolution expressing the sense of Congress that those who commit or support atrocities against Christians and other ethnic and religious minorities, including Yezidis, Turkmen, Sabea-Mandeans, Kaka`e, and Kurds, and who target them specifically for ethnic or religious reasons, are committing, and are hereby declared to be committing, `war crimes', `crimes against humanity', and `genocide'. Since the emergence of the self-proclaimed Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, Christians and other religious minorities including Yezidis, Turkmen, Sabea-Mandeans, Kakae, Kurds, and Shia, have been targeted for extermination and forced to flee their homelands. The atrocities perpetrated against these vulnerable groups shock the conscience of civilized humanity. They have been systematically murdered and subjected to grievous bodily harm and psychological harm, including sexual slavery and abuse inflicted in a deliberate and calculated manner. ISIS is committing genocide against religious groups that do not conform to ISISs totalitarian definition of true Islam. The United States government and the global community must universally acknowledge the genocide that is taking place against religious minorities in Iraq and Syria. Without a swift and decisive response from the international community, the lives and ancient cultural heritage of these minorities could be eradicated from the Middle East completely. It is our belief that officially declaring and subsequently halting this genocide and its spread is a matter of vital moral and strategic importance for the United States, the international community, and the overall state of religious freedom around the world. On March 14, 2016, this resolution passed the House on motion to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution. Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 393 - 0. On behalf of 112 organizations and individuals, including the client, who signed a multi-faith letter, made contacts to urge the U.S. government to declare the Islamic States systematic destruction of the ancient religious minority communities in Iraq and Syria including Christians-Assyrians/Chaldeans/Syriacs, Copts, etc.-Yazidis, Shia Muslims, Turkmen (Shia), Shabak and others to be genocide. There is a growing chorus of political and faith leaders, genocide scholars, human rights experts and numerous Iraqi and Syrian, Christian and Yazidi firsthand testimonies recognizing that the most accurate description for the atrocities unfolding at the initiative of the Islamic State is genocide. We believe that without a formal declaration the U.S. Government has abdicated its duty and vow to confront the most heinous of human rights violations, namely genocide. The Administration has a tremendous opportunity to extend American leadership at a crucial time on behalf of the ancient religious and ethnic minority communities who are experiencing the most brutal reality imaginable - genocide. In their most recent report, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq - Human Rights Office stated clearly that ISIL continue to target members of different ethnic and religious communities, expounding further [t]hese acts appear to form part of a systematic and widespread policy that aims to suppress, permanently expel, or destroy many of these communities within ISIL areas of control. On February 4, 2016, the European Parliament adopted a resolution designating the crimes the Islamic State has committed against ethnic and religious minorities as genocide. In the declaration, they remind other signatories of the 1948 U.N. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide to acknowledge the crimes of the Islamic State and to coordinate with the larger international community. At this critical juncture, a designation of genocide by the United States would strengthen the actions of the international community and further extend American leadership. Time and again the Islamic State has committed crimes with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, the ethnic and religious minority communities of Iraq and Syria. The world is watching and clear moral leadership by the Administration is needed to declare and subsequently stop such atrocities in order to preserve these ancient communities. It is our belief that officially declaring and subsequently halting this genocide is a matter of vital moral and strategic importance for the United States, the international community, and the overall state of religious freedom around the world. On March17, 2016, Secretary of State John Kerry said that the United States has determined that the Islamic State is carrying out genocide against Christians and other religious groups in the Middle East. On behalf of 61 organizations and individuals, including the client, who signed a multi-faith letter, made contacts in support of H.R. 1150, the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act of 2015; and in support of a markup in the House Foreign Affairs Committee. We must work to create a context where people can live with their deepest differences. The recent turmoil in Syria, Iraq and Ukraine-including the alarming spike in incidents of violence and persecution of Christians, Muslim communities, and other religious minorities-offers the latest examples of what happens if we do not. The purpose of the bill is to update the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA) and improve the capacity of the U.S. government to advance religious freedom globally by giving the Administration and State Department new political tools to better counter violent extremism and sectarian violence, growing anti-Semitism and restriction on religious minorities (e.g., a tier system for IRF reports on countries of particular concern and a special watch list, annual actions on countries with severe IRF abuses, authority to sanction individuals responsible for committing severe violations of IRF or materially supporting terrorism or violent extremism, and the ability to designate non-state actors as part of the Country of Particular Concern list and a range of sanctions targeting individual members of such groups); expanding diplomatic training, counter-terrorism coordination, and foreign assistance efforts; and reauthorizing the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) through 2021. With the passage and implementation of H.R. 1150, a strengthened IRFA and a stronger IRF policy-as integrated into U.S. foreign policy and national security-the United States will send a clear and urgent message regarding the inherent dignity of every human being, as well as our common global security in the fight against persecution and religious extremism, and terrorism. Doing so is consistent with the best of our values, practically protecting our interests as a result.
| Lobbyist | Covered position, as disclosed |
|---|---|
| GREG MITCHELL | — |
Shown as published by the Senate Office of Public Records and the House Clerk under the Lobbying Disclosure Act. The official filing is the record; open it for the full form.