The US Secretary of State John Kerry has said that ISIS’s atrocities should be classed as genocide. His declaration opens the way to greater involvement from America and other countries in protecting the victims of ISIS and bringing the perpetrators to justice. Mr Kerry said: “In my judgment, Daesh [ISIS] is responsible for genocide against groups in areas under its control, including Yazidis, Christians and Shia Muslims. Daesh is genocidal by self-declaration, by ideology, and by actions – in what it says, what it believes, and what it does.” Mr Kerry said it was difficult to build “a complete record” of ISIS’s crimes. But “over the past months, we have conducted a review of the vast amount of intelligence gathered”. Based on reports of ISIS’s atrocities, including the trapping of Yazidis on Mount Sinjar and the execution of Christians in Mosul and elsewhere, Mr Kerry said he believed ISIS was guilty of genocide – defined in international law as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”. Although the new designation does not trigger any automatic response, Mr Kerry said the US would continue its “comprehensive approach” to defeating the terrorist group. He concluded: “Naming these crimes is important but what is essential is to stop them.” The designation may lead to efforts to bring ISIS leaders to justice, possibly through the US tabling a UN resolution to involve the International Criminal Court. Mr Kerry had previously resisted calls to make the declaration. He was put under pressure by a House of Representatives vote in which a motion to declare ISIS’s crimes genocide was unanimously voted through by 383 votes to 0.