Coptic Orthodox Church UK
Media and Communications Office
Coptic Orthodox Church (Europe)
Media and Communications Office
HG Bishop Angaelos speaks on a National Press Club panel in Washington
DC on ‘Declaring Genocide: Equality and Dignity for Humanity as a Whole’ on 10
March 2016
10 March 2016
His Grace Bishop Angaelos, General Bishop of
the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom, spoke at a Press Conference
regarding a potential U.S. Genocide declaration in response to actions of the Caliphate
against the Yazidi and Christian communities in the Middle East. The event was
held at The National Press Club in Washington DC on 10 March 2016, and
co-sponsored by The Knights of Columbus and Indefense of Christians (IDC).
In his
address, entitled ‘Declaring Genocide: Equality and Dignity for Humanity as a
Whole’ Bishop Angaelos said:
“We
are here to speak about an issue of human rights and human dignity and the
sanctity of life, regardless of faith or ethnicity. If an act of Genocide is
decreed, it must be based indiscriminately on the facts alone.”
While
holding a copy of the recent report on ‘Genocide against Christians in the MiddleEast’ released
by The Knights of Columbus for the State Department, he continued:
“If we
look at Article 2 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the
Crime of Genocide (1948) we find that these acts against Christians in the
Middle East fall very much in line with the requirements laid out by the United
Nations.
I draw
your attention now to the picture on the front of the report which depicts 21
of our own Coptic Christians who were brutally murdered in Libya last year.
They were intentionally targeted and murdered purely for their Christian Faith.”
Stressing
the importance of including Christians in the classification of Genocide,
Bishop Angaelos said:
“If
Christians are excluded from the classification of Genocide, my concern, fear
and expectation is that we will be responsible for a greater and more ruthless
campaign of persecution against them, not only in Iraq and Syria but throughout
the region.
People
on the ground, regardless of rhetoric, stipulation and convention, will
perceive that the international community has supported one group over another,
and Christians will become a greater soft target. How can we not declare
Genocide if Christians are suffering the same fate, at the same time, under the
same conditions, at the hands of the same perpetrators?”
Going on
to speak about the violation of basic God-given rights, he said:
“What is happening in
the Middle East and Syria is criminal and is an indictment of our humanity if
left unaddressed. Whether speaking of Yazidis, Christians or other communities,
the atrocities they face are deplorable and warrant not only our concern but our
intentional action.
These are atrocities
not only against international convention, but against a God-given right for
people to live free, safe and dignified.”
Warning
the international community regarding neglect of those suffering in the Middle
East, Bishop Angaelos said:
“Inaction is
inexcusable and will lead to further persecution, not only of Christians but
of others. It has also led to an unprecedented displacement of people and the resulting
refugee crisis that we are witnessing. Having been to Erbil and to the Z’atari
camp in Jordan last week, and the transit camps in Europe, I have seen the
direct effects of that persecution.”
Bishop
Angaelos concluded by saying:
“The path to Genocide
is not laid overnight. It is a result of a gradual accumulation over decades,
involving ongoing persecution and marginalisation of vulnerable communities.
Having gone unchecked on our watch, this has led to our desensitisation and the
acceptance of this discriminatory dynamic as the status quo.
In declaring Genocide
we are looking to address and flag up the unbearable suffering of communities
and subsequently work for the safeguarding of God-given rights enshrined in
Universal and international law. We are not looking just to carry out a
statistical process, but to safeguard safety not protection, prosperity not
charity, and to ensure dignity and not mere survival.”
Alongside His Grace, panellists included, Supreme
Knight Carl Anderson, Chief Executive Officer and
Chairman of the Board of the Knights of Columbus, Nina Shea, Director of the
Centre for Religious Freedom at the Hudson Institute, Johnnie Moore, President
of The Kairos Company, Professor Gregory Stanton, Founding President, Genocide
Watch, Juliana Taimoorazy, Founder, Iraqi
Christian Relief Council, Father Joola, Chaldean Catholic Church in
Erbil, Father Douglas al-Bazi, former hostage, now a priest at Mar
Elia Refugee Camp in Erbil, Iraq, and Professor Robert Destro, Professor of Law
and founding Director of the Interdisciplinary Program in Law &
Religion at The Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law in
Washington.
*Ends*
