U.N. Building in Manhattan, New York
ishtartv.com - wnd.com
Alicia Powe, 14-11-2017
WASHINGTON
– United Nations “refugee” programs have focused on Muslims in the Middle East
for years, even though the populations of Christians, Yazidis and other
religious minorities in the region have been under siege.
A
recent report from Aid to the Church in
Need notes that “Christians are the victims of at least 75 percent of all
religiously motivated violence and oppression.”
The
organization said more than half of Iraq’s Christians now are internal
refugees, having been driven from their homes.
The
Syrian city of Aleppo was home to the largest Christian community in the Middle
East in 2011. But the Christian population there is down more than 75 percent
in just six years, the report notes, from 150,000 to about 35,000.
Still,
U.N. programs largely have selected Muslims to come to the United States,
Britain and other countries as refugees in recent years.
But
now there’s been a shift, with the United Nations conceding there is a problem
with the persecution of Christians.
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Two
U.N. officials have pledged
in letters to the American Center for Law and Justice that the
international body will aid persecuted Christians.
ACLJ
sent a letter
to Adama Dieng, the U.N.’s under-secretary-general and special adviser
regarding the prevention of genocide, urging the U.N. to acknowledge the
reality of the genocide being perpetrated by ISIS against Christians and other
religious minorities.
Dieng
responded, assuring ACLJ he will hold the perpetrators of genocide accountable
and pledging the U.N. will provide a safe return home for those wrongfully
displaced.
“I
have also reiterated that taking steps toward accountability is critical to
demonstrating that all populations will have a place in the future of Iraq,
including ethnic and religious minorities,” Dieng stated in his response.
The
United Nations, he said, will also encourage Iraq to lead the way in protecting
Christians and preventing genocide.
“In
the absence of accountability processes at the national level, the
international community can explore the options that you set out in your
letter, some of which can also be initiated by the government of Iraq,” he
said. “I have personally shared these options with the Minister of Foreign
Affairs of Iraq.”
Dieng
is backing up his promise with action, including leading the U.N. to
unanimously adopt Resolution
2379, ACLJ said.
Resolution
2379 calls for the creation of an investigative team for the purpose of
“collecting, preserving, and storing evidence in Iraq of acts that may amount
to war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed by the terrorist
group [ISIS] in Iraq,” evidence that will then be used to hold ISIS members
accountable.
“We’ve
seen the U.N. begin to act,” ACLJ explained. “After Mr. Dieng shared our policy
proposal with Iraq, Iraq took that proposal to the U.N. We also urged action
from the British government, which then worked with Iraq at the U.N. to propose
a key U.N. Security Council resolution. That resolution to take the first step
on our genocide proposal just passed unaminously.”
In a
letter to ACLJ last
week, Ivan Simonovic, another U.N. adviser regarding the responsibility to
protect at-risk populations, also vowed to take immediate to protect religious
minorities.
“We
need to ensure that all minority groups have a space in the future of Iraq,”
Simonovic stated.
The
U.N.’s acknowledgement of Christian persecution comes just weeks after President
Trump ordered the State Department to stop funding the U.N’s humanitarian
programs the administration claims are inadequately combating the persecution
of Christians in the Middle East.
Speaking
at the In Defense of Christians summit in Washington, D.C., last month, Vice
President Mike Pence explained
the State Department’s funding of “ineffective” U.N. relief efforts will be
terminated and replaced by providing humanitarian assistance directly through
U.S. Agency for International Development and “faith-based groups.”
Pence
sharply criticized the U.N., arguing the international body has “often failed
to help the most vulnerable communities especially religious minorities.”
“We
will no longer rely on the United Nations alone to assist persecuted Christians
and minorities in the wake of genocide and the atrocities of terrorist groups,”
Pence said to applause.
Pence
argued that the U.N. is neglecting vulnerable communities, especially religious
minorities, and said persecuted Christians in the Middle East have not been
getting the relief they need.
“My
friends, those days are over,” Pence said. “Our fellow Christians and all who
are persecuted in the Middle East should not have to rely on multinational
institutions when America can help them directly.
“We
will no longer rely on the United Nations alone to assist persecuted Christians
and minorities in the wake of genocide and the atrocities of terrorist groups,”
Pence said. “The United States will work hand-in-hand from this day forward
with faith-based groups and private organizations to help those who are
persecuted for their faith. This is the moment, now is the time, and America
will support these people in their hour of need.”
Pence
is slated
to visit the Middle East in December, where he will discuss peace agreements
with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas and tell various leaders it is time to bring an end to the
persecution of Christians and religious minorities.
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