“As we make progress in defeating ISIS and denying them their caliphate, their terrorist members have and continue to target multiple religions and ethnic groups for rape, kidnapping, enslavement and even death,” said Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson, referring to the Islamic State, in brief remarks Tuesday morning at the State Department.
He went on to declare that the Islamic State was “clearly responsible for genocide against Yazidis, Christians and Shia Muslims in areas it controls or has controlled.” The comments were part of the formal release of the International Religious Freedom Report for 2016, an annual accounting required by Congress of threats to religious freedom around the world.
“Religious persecution and intolerance remains far too prevalent,” he said. “Almost 80 percent of the global population live with restrictions on or hostilities to limit their freedom of religion.”
