The House of Representatives passed the Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act on Friday, which would make it policy “to regard the prevention of genocide and other atrocities as in its national security interests.”
The Senate passed it by unanimous consent earlier this month. The bill will now head to U.S. President Donald Trump to sign it into law.
The bipartisan bill was introduced in May 2017 by Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.). It was backed by some 73 national and local organizations, including In Defense of Christians and the Philos Project.
The U.S. government officially designated the persecution of Yazidis, Christians and other minorities in Iraq and Syria at the hands of the Islamic State as a genocide in 2016.
This development comes as Trump announced on Wednesday that U.S. troops will withdraw from Syria. One of the consequences feared is the genocide of Kurds and other minorities in the area.
