Threats to Religious and Ethnic Minorities under the Islamic State: International Perspectives скачать в хорошем качестве

Threats to Religious and Ethnic Minorities under the Islamic State: International Perspectives

For more on this event, visit: http://bit.ly/29IENVr For more on the Berkley Center, visit: http://bit.ly/1hO8iHS For more on the Religious Freedom Project, visit: http://bit.ly/2bMCLHD In March 2016, the U.S. House of Representatives and Secretary of State John Kerry declared that the Islamic State (ISIS) is committing genocide against Christians, Yazidis, Shi'a Muslims, and other religious and ethnic minority groups in Syria and Iraq. In addition to these and other crimes against humanity, ISIS is also engaging in a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Kurds and even Sunni Muslims. Unfortunately, months later, ISIS and other violent extremist groups continue to target and terrorize their victims through rape, enslavement, and murder, while religious and cultural sites are systematically looted and destroyed. To inform policymakers about the continuing travail of religious and ethnic minorities threatened by ISIS, and to galvanize long-term thinking about addressing this crisis, the Religious Freedom Project hosted a daylong conference at Georgetown University. During the conference, representatives of the targeted communities shared their personal experiences of religious persecution and their recommendations for policymakers. Among the questions they engaged were: What are the immediate security challenges posed by ISIS? What can we do now to ensure the viability of vulnerable religious and ethnic communities in Iraq and Syria? What steps need to be taken to ensure religious freedom, and how is religious freedom a possible antidote to future violence? Community representatives were joined by distinguished policymakers, activists, and scholars. This event was supported by the U.S. State Department’s Office of International Religious Freedom. SCHEDULE 9:00-9:30 a.m. | Welcome Thomas Farr, Religious Freedom Project Knox Thames, State Department Office of International Religious Freedom 9:30-11:00 a.m. | Religious & Ethnic Leaders’ Perspectives Father Behnam Benoka, Humanitarian worker Mar Awa Royel, Assyrian Church of the East Breen Tahseen, Representative of Yazidi Prince Naomi Kikoler, Holocaust Memorial Museum (moderator) 11:00-11:15 a.m. | Break 11:15-12:45 p.m. | Advocacy and Civil Society Perspectives Murad Ismael, YAZDA Rajab Assi Kareem, Kakai activist Ali A. Zainalabdeen, Turkmen Rescue Foundation Eliza Griswold, Poet and journalist (moderator) 12:45-1:00 p.m. | Lunch Served 1:00-2:00 p.m. | Keynote Address David Saperstein, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom 2:00-3:30 p.m. | International Perspectives Kent Hill, World Vision Sherri Talabany, SEED Foundation Christine van den Toorn, American University of Iraq, Sulaimani Stephen Colecchi, USCCB (moderator) 3:30-3:45 p.m. | Break 3:45-5:15 p.m. | Post-Liberation: Promises and Challenges Mohammed Al-Abdallah, Syria Justice & Accountability Centre Bassam Ishak, Syriac National Council of Syria Saad Salloum, Masarat Religious Freedom Organization Pascale Warda, Hammurabi Human Rights Organization Robert A. Destro, Catholic University of America (moderator) 5:15-5:30 p.m. | Closing Remarks