The human rights situation faced by minorities in Iraq remains alarming in political, civic and cultural terms. Ethnic and religious minorities in Iraq, as well as other vulnerable populations, continue to deal with the threats of violence, discrimination, exclusion and the denial of their property rights. The consequences are a deterioration in social cohesion and national unity, and an inability to overcome sectarian violence. Instead of being contained, this pandemic has actually expanded to other countries like Syria and Egypt. Because of the threats and violence based on religious and ethnic identities, the members of minority communities are still fleeing from their countries in search of safety and protection. This series of testimonies will be given as part of the conference on ethnic and religious violence organized by Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation on May 24, 2017.

Participating in the event will be the Bishop of Kirkuk, Yousif Mirkis; the Archbishop of Basra, Habib Al Nawfali; Yonadam Kanna, Member of the Iraqi Parliament and a member of the Syrian Christian community, Jean Clément Jeanbart, Archbishop of Aleppo and administrator of the Melkite Greek Church; and Naseer Shamma, a UNESCO Peace Ambassador.