Donald Trump is being urged to step up his support for persecuted Christians and other religious minorities as a year passed since the US' genocide declaration.

Persecution watchdogs highlighted the lack of progress after the anniversary of John Kerry, then US-secretary of state, declared ISIS crimes a genocide on March 17 2016.

Nadia Murad, a victim of sexual enslavement by ISIS and Nobel Peace Prize nominee, said: 'The genocide is still going. The minorities in our area still face a real danger. Iraq will be emptied of Yezidis, Christians, and other minorities.

'The US government should step in and take practical steps against this genocide. Since the genocide has been recognised, no significant steps have been taken and not a lot has changed.'

A statement from Alliance for Defending Freedom on Friday said: 'To date, no ISIS militant has been tried for genocide, crimes against humanity, or war crimes, nor has the United Nations issued an official designation of genocide.'

Kelsey Zorzo, the group's UN Counsel accused the US of failing to act.

'No person or group should live in fear of being killed, tortured, or oppressed because of their religious beliefs,' she said. 'Recognising and condemning the ongoing genocide of Christians, Yazidis, and other religious minorities was an important first step.

'As a signatory to the Convention on Genocide the US is obliged to act fast to stop the genocide and prosecute the perpetrators. It has been an entire year since the designation. The US and the international community have failed to act.'

She added: 'The UN is apparently waiting on Iraq's approval before it takes action, but this has been the case for over six months and there is no authorization in sight. Victims are suffering. Evidence is being lost and destroyed. The investigation into crimes committed in Syria is mainly focused on the civil war, not ISIS. Not a single ISIS militant has even been under investigation for genocide or other international crimes. We are hopeful that the US will take the lead in finally bringing ISIS to justice.'

ADF International was joined by In Defence of Christians (IDC) in putting pressure on Trump's administration.

'The United States proclaimed the truth about the crimes that Christians, Yazidis, and Shiites have suffered at the hands of ISIS—but words are not enough,' a statement from IDC read. 'One year later, nearly all of the survivors of the ongoing genocide remain uprooted from their communities, either as refugees or internally displaced persons.'

Democratic Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, who joined Republican Jeff Fortenberry in applying the pressure that led to the declaration warned: 'It is history is repeating itself. I think when the pages of history are written about our day and our time, what would be the most honorable part of that history is that we responded to it, that we rose up and that we did something.'