In front of an audience of nearly one hundred of the world’s leading religious freedom advocates — including ambassadors and task force representatives from Armenia, Lebanon, and Egypt — Assyrian activist Nahren Anweya warned of a “silent genocide” unfolding among Assyrians in the Middle East.
“It shouldn’t take this much paperwork to stop a mass slaughtering of Christians in Iraq and Syria,” said Anweya, Director of Special Projects at the Middle Eastern Women’s Coalition.
Her remarks came during the closing panel of the sixth annual “In Defense of Christians 2019 National Leadership Conference: Fighting for Equality, Freedom and Security,” held on Sept. 10 and 11.
The conference, co-sponsored by the Armenian National Committee of America, opened with a “Solidarity Dinner” attended by members of Congress, senior State Department and White House officials, diplomats, and religious leaders.
The White House shared messaged of support, including a letter from President Donald Trump and a video address from Secretary of State Michael Pompeo.
“IDC amplifies the voices of those who otherwise would have no voice,” Pompeo said. “You share invaluable insight with top U.S. policy makers. You truly do the Lord’s work.”
U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Samuel Brownback delivered the evening’s keynote and accepted the Charles Malik Human Rights award for his leadership across the Middle East, including his support for the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, which codified the promotion of religious freedom as a pillar of U.S. foreign policy.
“There are millions of people right now praying in quiet corners and in little houses or huts that are persecuted throughout the world and they’re praying to God,” Brownback said. “That’s why you’re here — those prayers. They’re being heard.”
Rep. Jackie Speier, D-CA, received the Congressional Champion Award for her advocacy for Christians and Yazidis targeted by ISIS and her call for U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-FL, was also honored for defending Coptic Christians and other religious minorities in 2011.
The second day featured a panel on religious freedom efforts in Lebanon, Iraq, Armenia, and Egypt, ahead of congressional meetings focused on security in Lebanon, the safe return of Syrians to Syria, equal rights for Coptic Christians in Egypt, and the safe return of Assyrians to Iraq.
Before 2003, Iraq’s Assyrian population was estimated at 1.5 million, according to the Assyrian Policy Institute (API), a non-profit founded in 2018 to raise awareness of issues facing Assyrians. Today, API estimates fewer than 300,000 remain. (Since this article was published, more recent estimates place this number closer to 130,000).
“For Christians, most of all in the region, ISIS has to be defeated,” said Edward Gabriel, President and CEO of the American Task Force for Lebanon.
A former U.S. ambassador to Morocco, Gabriel confirmed reports of ISIS reemerging in parts of Syria and warned that a U.S. withdrawal from eastern Syria would forfeit crucial leverage.
Jeremy Barker, Senior Program Officer and Director of the Middle East Action Team at the Religious Freedom Institute, said many of the underlying drivers behind ISIS remain unresolved in Iraq. U.S. policy, he argued, must be multi-layered.
“Simply an ISIS-focused anti-terror campaign will not be sufficient,” Barker said, pointing to governance failures, mismanagement of basic services, and unresolved sectarian disputes as factors fueling tensions across the country.
A major trust deficit exists between Iraqi citizens and their government and it compounds these issues, he added, leading to the question of who’s really in charge.
“No one really feels the government as bearing the weight of responsibility of these communities,” he said.
Founded in 2014 in response to the rise of ISIS, In Defense of Christians is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to protecting and preserving Christianity and its cultural heritage across the Middle East. The organization advances its mission through political advocacy, conferences, research reports, and educational initiatives for policymakers, public officials, and global religious freedom leaders.
The Leadership Conference, said IDC Government Relations and Policy Director Peter Burns, is designed to push forward conversations about security and religious freedom in the Middle East and to force policymakers to confront these issues directly.
“We want to leave our attendees with a renewed sense that they are not forgotten, that their voices are being heard,” Burns said. “This event gives those individuals the opportunity to advocate for themselves. There’s nothing as empowering as when you get to walk into an office of your member of Congress and say, ‘This is my story and this is the action I would like you to take.’”