Washington, DC: September 12, 2016. (PCP) Last Friday, September 9, Congressman Jeff Fortenberry introduced a bipartisan resolution confronting the ISIS genocide by calling for the creation of a Nineveh Plain Province in Iraq. He announced that he would be introducing the resolution yesterday at IDC's third annual National Advocacy Day in the Capitol, featuring over 35 Members of Congress. "The re-securitization and revitalization of the Nineveh Plain, allowing the repatriation of those who had to flee" is one next step that must be taken in follow up to the genocide determination made by the United States and the international community, Fortenberry stated this afternoon. "The Nineveh Plain was once a thriving, pluralistic area of Iraq with a rich tapestry of religious and ethnic diversity. This resolution, which follows on the Government of Iraq’s own initiative to create a province in the Nineveh Plain region, seeks to restore the ancestral homeland of so many suffering communities.” The resolution was introduced along with Dan Lipinski (D-IL), Chris Smith (R-NJ), Juan Vargas (D-CA), Trent Franks (R-AZ), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Robert Aderholt (R-AL), Rob Wittman (R-VA), Dan Donovan (R-NY), Andy Harris (R-MD), Barbara Comstock (R-VA), Joe Pitts (R-PA). IDC President Toufic Baaklini applauded Congressman Fortenberry for his continued leadership in the U.S. Congress to make the religious minorities of the Middle East a foreign policy priority for the United States. Earlier this year, Fortenberry’s bipartisan genocide resolution passed the United States House of Representatives by a vote of 393-0. "The Iraqi government, the Kurdish Regional Government have recognized the need for the Nineveh Plain Province. It's time for United States to do the same," Baaklini stated. The resolution for the Nineveh Plain Province has been developed in joint partnership with In Defense of Christians, the Philos Project and the Institute for Global Engagement. Executive Director of the Philos Project Robert Nicholson, IDC Senior Adviser Andrew Doran, Armenian National Committee of America Executive Director Aram Hamparian, and President of the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett discussed the importance of a province for the indigenous peoples of Nineveh Plain region last Wednesday at the In Defense of Christians (IDC) press conference that kicked off IDC's three-day convention, "Beyond Genocide: Preserving and Protecting the Future of Christianity in the Middle East." During the conference, the panelists detailed how to make the province a reality and Lantos Swett applauded these efforts. "The vast majority of Americans know that our policies in the region have been inadequate, but jumping in without a vision is not a way ahead," said Lantos Swett. "Fortunately, we are presenting a vision today. It will need a commitment from the international community, which has to be led by the United States, but the vision you have presented today is real, concrete and sustainable. It will resonate with the American people because it makes sense."