Ishtartv.com- Majid Aziza - Canada /
   On Saturday, 12th of January 2013, the Protection of the Christians (Chaldeans Syriac Assyrians)Rights in Iraq  conference was held in Toronto/ Canada, sponsored by the CSA Popular Council  in Canada, and which was attended by the Iraqi community in Canada and the US, estimated to more than 500 people, with the participation of a large number of parliamentarians, government officials from Canada and the US, professors and specialties in international organizations and universities, in addition to the PC delegation headed by Mr. Fahmi Mansour, vice chairman of the Council, Amir Goga, head of the PC list in the Kurdistan Parliament, Asitifan Habash, member of the executive branch, Rafiqa Elya, Adnan Odisho and Sabah Rafo, members of the PC, also Kamel Zumaya, PC  representative in Germany, Ms. Teresa Esho, PC  representative in Denmark, in addition to Mr. Yoseph Kassab, director of the (Supporting Iraqi Christians Institute) in the US, and a number of political organizations and human rights organizations from Canada and the United States.
   The Conference started with words selected from the Bible, read out by Mr. Afram Alhozi, member of the PC in Canada, then the attendees stood in respects for the Canadaian and Iraqi national anthems, followed by a prayer by Father Jack Jacob, pastor of Mar Behnam church for the Syrian Orthodox, hoping for the conference all the success, followed by a word by Dr. Ali Algazairi, imam of the Muslim community in Canada, in which he stressed on the right of Christians demands.

   Then came the words of speeches Mr. Madloum Marouki, Mr. Fahmi Mansour, followed by the words of Mr. Rick Dikstra, presented on the behalf of Mr. Jason Kenney, the Canadian Minister of Immigration, and then the word of the U.S. government representative, Mr. Ehsan Zafar, the political adviser to the Civil Rights and Religious Freedom and National Security Office in the government of President Barack Obama, followed by Mrs. Judy Segro’s word, member of the Canadian Parliament, presented by her representative Ms. Antonita, then the word of Mr. Amir Goga, head of PC List in the Kurdistan Parliament; after that Ms. Caroline Hormuz read a number of messages sent by a number of political Americans and Canadians officials, including (Mr. Carl Levin, Mr. Frank Wolf, Mr. Carey Peter and Mr. Sander Laven, members of Congress, and Mr. David Smith, a Canadian Senator, Mr. Habib Afram, President of the Syriac Association in Lebanon, also the messages of Monsignor David Pafro, Monsignor Louis AlDirani and Father Noel Furman from the Chaldean Diocese of Mar Ady in Canada.
   Then the dialogue sessions began, where Dr. Kamal Sido, chairman of the Middle East department at the International Society for the Oppressed Peoples, directed the first session, which was entitled (the constitutional rights of the Chaldean Syriac Assyrian people), in which the following participated (Fahmi Mansour, Mr. Safen Spinkman, professor of political and international science, Mr. Brendan Orly, Professor of political science, Mr. Amir Goga, Mr. Asityfo Habash, relations official in the PC, Mr. Kamel Zumaia the Council representative in Germany and Miss Rafeqa Alkhorani, PC member). After that a documentary film about the life of the Chaldean Syriac Assyrian people in Iraq,
for the director Kondlen Kotiez was shown. At a second dialogue session moderated by Mr. Afram Alhozi, member of the PC in Canada, in which the following participated (Rev. Majid AlShafie, head of the One Free World for Human Rights Association, Congressman Professor Paul Marshall, Mr. Yoseph Kassab, Director of Supporting the Iraqi Christians Institute in the US and Mr. Adly Abanoub, secretary of the Religious Freedoms Committee in Canada), then the third dialogue session took place, moderated by Ms. Teresa Esho, representative of the PC in Denmark, and which was  attended by Professor Amir Harraaq, head of the Syriac Studies department at the University of Toronto and Amal Marouki, a professor at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.
   Also participated in this sessions the lawyer Abdulrahim Isaac Qallo, a well-known writer, and then two poems were delivered by Mr Youssef Potrus and Majid Aziza, followed by Mr. Madloum Marouki’s final statement of the conference, which read as follows:
   Under the slogan "protecting the rights of the Christians Chaldean Syriac Assyrian people in Iraq ", sponsored by the CSA Popular Council  Office in Canada and with the support of (the International Society for the Defense of the Threatened Peoples) and (the International Society for Human Rights) this conference was held in Toronto on 12 / January 2013, where a group of Iraqi components representatives, the Sabian, the Yazidis and the representatives of the CSA parties in Iraq and abroad, have participated in, in addition to a number of the Canadian government officials and members of the Canadian Parliament, as well as a number of the representatives of the U.S. government and members of the U.S. Congress, also many representatives of the Canadian parties and active personalities in the field of human rights and "minorities" from Iraq, Canada and the US, in addition to the active participation of the delegation of the PC headed by Fahmi Mansour, vice chairman of the PC, as well as the representatives of Iraqi and Canadian civil society organizations, plus the Iraqi community and a large gathering of CSA people in Toronto / Canada.
   The conferees discussed the current status of the indigenous components in Iraq, how they have been targeted, ways to protect them and to support them, and after extensive discussions and research provided by the participants, a committee was established to follow up the decisions of the Conference, which submitted its recommendations that were passed by the conference, and as follows:
   From our belief in the basis of the principles of democracy, world peace and human rights, and according to the federal Iraq Constitution, and specifically within the material (2 - First b and c - II) (3) (4 - Fourth, Fifth) and the materials (14,15,16,17) as well as (23 - Third, b) and the materials (41,43,116), the Article (122 I-II) the Article (5) and the Article (35) of the draft constitution of Kurdistan Region ....
The conference concluded with the following recommendations: -
1 - the conferees follow with great concern what is going on in the Iraqi political scene, of no consensus between the political forces, as well as the outstanding problems between the central government and the Kurdistan Region, the popular demands for better services, the marginalization that affects large segments of Iraqi society and its effect on disabling the political life in Iraq, with a large failures on the security, the economic, the services and the social sides, and a complete paralysis in all aspects of life that affect the lives of Iraqi citizens, the conference stressed that the internal and regional situation do not bear any more surprises, that may bring to Iraq and its people more suffering and tragedies, and an appeal was issued in this regard to the Iraqi government to work on a realistic initiative to push the political process forward in Iraq, and averting it from sliding into dangers that would affect everyone.
2 - Respecting human rights and the components rights (national and religious) in Iraq, and working to protect them as an integral part of human rights, through all the state institutions (governmental and social) as pledged by Iraq as part of the relevant international charters and conventions concerning Iraq's sovereignty.
3 - Work on the formation of an international committee under the supervision of the United Nations, in coordination with the Iraqi government to follow and document the crimes committed against the CSA (Christian) people, and the rest of the indigenous Iraqi components.
4 - The Conference confirm on the application of Article (35) of the constitution draft of Kurdistan Region in granting the autonomy to the CSA people, after the referendum on the constitution draft.
5 - The conference wishes a speedy recovery to President Mam Jalal Talabani, President of the Republic of Iraq and underlines the claim to support his initiative on the development of the province in some parts of the Nineveh Plain for all the components living there, including our brothers the Yazidis and Shabak beside the CSA people.
6 - Stopping the demographic change in the Nineveh Plain, and cancelling all the applicable decisions of the former regime which resulted and still the demographic change, because of their negative effects that threaten the demise of the cultural and civilizational diversity of the Nineveh Plain.
7 - To end the file on what is remained of the encroachments on our people lands and real estate in the Kurdistan Region and the Nineveh Plain.
8 - To initiate effective measures to improve the security and the economic situation, to create jobs for the unemployed and to develop the areas of the Chaldean Syriac Assyrian people to reduce the migration of the Christians and the other components.
9 – The conference appeals to the United Nations organizations, the European Union institutions and the decision-maker countries to hold a similar conference at the international level to discuss the conditions of religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq, with the aim of finding political and economic solutions to improve their situation.
10 - Follow-up of the recommendations and decisions by the participating and supervising parts mentioned previously.
Toronto 12 / January / 2013
This conference was covered by many medias including (Ishtar TV channel, Nineveh Newspaper, Alsaha Magazine, the Iraqi Community Newspaper, the Akad Newspaper Kurdistan Satellite channel and Radio Free Iraq).