A “Stop the Christian Genocide” petition is drumming up support for a congressional act that would affix the definition to the killing of religious minorities in the Middle East. As of Thursday afternoon, the petition has racked up 64,319 signatures.

The Islamic State has been deemed responsible for the threat of Christian genocide that, even before the petition, many prominent world leaders had already called for the stoppage of. Its primary targets have been in Iraq and Syria, but several other nations in the region have also experienced such violence. Though data is scarce and often unreliable, it is estimated that displacement and killing has dropped the Middle East’s Christian population from 14 to just 4 percent over the last century, reported the New York Times.

Widespread displacement of Christians has allowed some to escape what may be a genocide, but the exist in refugee camps or other places far from home. Could an act placing a definition on their struggle be won from the petition? (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

Still, the U.S. government has yet to officially define the acts as crimes against humanity — the first step needed to bring about international justice. While the unofficially named Christian genocide has been going on for quite some time, petitions and congressional acts are now pushing the issue to the forefront. When asked by a New Hampshire constituent in December, Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton said that she now believed there was enough evidence to take action, reported Associated Press.

“I will because we now have enough evidence… [there is a campaign] deliberately aimed at destroying not only the lives, but wiping out the existence of Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East in territory controlled by ISIS.”

While Christians headline the petition, they are far from the only group to face such discrimination. The congressional act calling for the declaration of the murders as genocide also includes other ethno-religious groups that have faced bloody attacks from ISIS, including Yezidis, Turkmen, Sabea-Mandeans, Kaka’e, and Kurds.

Because of this widespread bloodshed, it may seem like the “Stop the Christian Genocide” petition is a misnomer since the act itself is linked to several other groups facing discrimination. In February, the European Parliament unanimously passed a resolution that specified a “genocide” definition to what is taking place with several religious minorities in the war-torn countries.

Taking into account the statements about the Christian genocide from world leaders, it seems quite likely that the petition will reach its goal. Like the European act, Congress is being asked to establish a clear condemnation of what is taking place in order to put a stop to it. Christian Democrat Lars Adaktusson of Sweden, who voted on the European bill, told Newsweek that these legal definitions could save lives.

“The collective obligation to intervene, to stop these atrocities and to stop the persecution in the ongoing discussion about the fight against the Islamic State… It gives the victims of the atrocities a chance to get their human dignity restored. It’s also a historical confirmation that the European Parliament recognized what is going on and that they are suffering from the most despicable crime in the world, namely genocide.”

Christmas plays out in refugee camps for Christians displaced by ISIS, but does a petition pushing for action against a genocide ring true? [Image via Matt Cardy/Getty Images]

While it may be confusing to some signing the petition, the hesitancy to define what is happening to Christians, Yezidis, and others in the region is actually based on conventions established by a 1948 U.N. resolution that calls for exhaustive evidence before acting to declare anything a genocide, according to London School of Economics expert Jens Meierhenrich in The Guardian.

“By using the noun ‘genocide’ – rather than the adjective ‘genocidal’ – we run the risk of lumping together, intentionally or otherwise, all kinds of violent practices (from insurgent violence to political violence to terrorist violence) in the region that may, or may not, have been committed with the specific intent to destroy, in whole or in part, Christians as a religious group.”

For more information, you can view the full 287-page report calling for the “war crimes” definition presented by the “Stop the Christian Genocide” petition and congressional act.

[Image via Matt Cardy/Getty Images]