US Commission to Hold Hearing on Threats to Iraq's
Minorities
19.Jul.2007
http://esna.se/eng/?article=263
Iraq's communities of antiquity -- including Chaldo-Assyrian Christians,
Sabaean Mandaeans, Yazidis and others -- face grave violence and targeted
persecution that threatens their continued existence on the territory they
have inhabited for millennia. Amid the current debate over U.S. policy, the
United States Commission on International Religious Freedom is convening
a hearing to gather expert testimony from representatives of those ancient
communities.
The hearing is the first of two. The second will examine the status and treatment
of Iraqi refugees--both Muslim and non-Muslim--who have fled sectarian violence
and religious persecution.
The July 25 hearing will open with testimony by The Rev. Canon Andrew White,
Vicar of St. George's Anglican Church, Baghdad, and President and CEO, Foundation
for Reconciliation in the Middle East. The Rev. Canon White has served as
the Archbishop of Canterbury's Special Representative to the Middle East,
and negotiated in many conflicts. He is author of the book Iraq: Searching
for Hope. Other witnesses invited to testify at the July 25 hearing include:
---Ms. Pascale Warda, President, Iraqi Women's Center for Development, former
Iraqi Minister of Migration and Displacement
---Dr. Donny George, Professor, State University of New York, Stony Brook,
former Chairman, Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and Heritage and former
Director General, Iraqi National Museum
---Mr. Michael Youash, Iraq Sustainable Democracy Project
---Dr. Suhaib Nashi, General Secretary, Mandaean Associations Union
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom was created by the
International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA) to monitor violations
of the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief abroad,
as defined in ! IRFA and set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and related international instruments, and to give independent policy
recommendations to the President, Secretary of State, and Congress. It is
the first government commission in the world with the sole mission of reviewing
and making policy recommendations on the facts and circumstances of violations
of religious freedom globally.
When: Wednesday, July 25, 9:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Where: Russell Senate Office Building, Room 485
RSVP: communications@uscirf.gov or (202) 523-3240 x 135
Contact: Judith Ingram, Communications Director, (202) 523-3240, ext. 127
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom
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