Friday, July 29, 2016

 

The Assyrian Aid Society participated in the Washington DC conference that was held on July 28th & 29th, 2016. Mrs. Mona Malik, executive board's member for the Assyrian Aid Society of America, attended the conference on behalf of Mr. Ashur Sargon the president of the AAS-Iraq. The conference was about the threats of ISIS to the Iraqi ethnic and religious minorities and was sponsored by the United States state department represented by Mr. David Saperstein, Ambassador-at-Large for international religious freedom. Mr. Knox Thames, Special Advisor for Religious Minorities in the Near East and South / Central Asia at US State Department.

 

The AASI was invited to the conference in George Town University which was also attended by large array of religious and ethnic minorities such as Mr. Younadam Kanna, Iraqi PM and his beatitude Mar Awa Rouwil, representing the Assyrian Church of the East besides representatives of the local organizations.

 

During the conference; personal experiences regarding the religious persecution were exchanged and were conveyed to the policy makers and activists. Among the Subjects that were discussed by the participants were the challenges that the Islamic State organization poses, methods to help the religious minorities in Iraq and Syrian stay in their lands. Steps that should be taken to ensure religious freedom in the region, The AASI played a major role in the discussions of the NGO opinions regarding the matter.