HG Bishop Angaelos speaks on a National Press Club panel in Washington DC on ‘Declaring Genocide: Equality and Dignity for Humanity as a Whole’

Coptic Orthodox Church UK

Media and Communications Office

Coptic Orthodox Church (Europe)

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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*

Comment on the recent IDC Gala dinner by His Grace Bishop Angaelos, General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom

Now that the dust has settled after the recent In Defense of Christians (IDC) Gala dinner in Washington on 10 September 2014, I feel it is appropriate to comment because of the nature of my work on inter-religious relations and reconciliation in Britain and around the world.

My observation was of a large gathering of people, particularly connected to Iraq and Syria, experiencing very real pain who had come together to represent relatives either displaced, persecuted, missing, or murdered. In my own address and in my general view as a Christian and a minister I believe there is complete clarity that advocacy must be for all who suffer persecution, Christian or otherwise, and that this is a time for collaboration to this end.

As mentioned in my previous statement of 10 September 2014, “Christians, along with those who live by faith, morals, and ethics, and the international community, must collaborate to address this threat against not only innocent civilians, but our way of life as we know it today.” Having spoken at this IDC Summit on the plight of Christians in the Middle East, and particularly in Iraq and Syria, I take personal exception to sweeping statements made about those in attendance as espousing "bigotry and hatred...against Jews and Israel". In light of the current very real challenges, this is not a time for such divisive and inflammatory language that demonises communities and causes rifts between them when their collaboration is most needed.

As servants of the people, clergy, politicians or otherwise, we are accountable and responsible as representatives, stewards and reconcilers to deal at the most difficult of times and circumstances with the most peaceful means to overcome apparent misunderstanding and conflict.

Press Release: His Grace Bishop Angaelos, General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom testified at a Congressional Hearing on ‘Human Rights Abuses in Egypt’ in Washington DC on Human Rights Day, 10 December 2013.

PRESS RELEASE

For immediate use

10 December 2013

Coptic Orthodox Church UK

Media and Communications Office

Coptic Orthodox Church (Europe)

Media and Communications Office

His Grace Bishop Angaelos, General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom testified at a Congressional Hearing on ‘Human Rights Abuses in Egypt’ in Washington DC on Human Rights Day, 10 December 2013. 

    

Addressing the congressional panel with four other witnesses, during a Joint Subcommittee Hearing comprised of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organisations, and the Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, Bishop Angaelos underlined the nature and unprecedented level of violence and attacks against minority groups in Egypt pre and post 2011 uprising.

Highlighting a number of incidents occurring in recent months and years, he spoke of the increased incitement that led to the burning, demolition, and attacks on scores of churches, the kidnapping of Christian girls, restrictions on the choice or expression of faith, and the increasing violent attacks resulting in loss of life, and the displacement and destruction of property over decades.

Speaking on behalf of all minorities Bishop Angaelos said:

“I do not only speak as a Christian, because that would be very un-Christian of me. We speak as Christians for everyone, and our view of human rights is for a human rights perspective that covers every person.”

Saying the following regarding the political situation in Egypt:

“What we need to address at the moment are issues of illiteracy and poverty that make constituents vulnerable when they vote and are manipulated, either financially, or in terms of ideology, and of course religion becomes a part of that. What we also need is foreign investment and tourism to bolster the economy and enable people to sustain their families and communities.”

In conclusion, Bishop Angaelos spoke of Christians in Egypt as those who remain loyal to, and take pride in, their indigenous homeland despite the various challenges faced, saying:

“We speak as Christians with hope, and we have faced persecution far greater than this. We are still there as the largest Christian denomination in the Middle East and as the last actual bastion of Christian presence in the region.”

Shortly after the hearing, and in commenting further on the state of minorities in Egypt, Bishop Angaelos said:

“While we do not seek to place blame on the current leadership, it is evident that over the past decades there has been little done to ensure that these violent acts do not reoccur. Since the uprising, and due to a decrease in law and order resulting from the turbulent period under the rule of Mr Mohammed Morsi, there have been increasing challenges facing Christian and minority groups in Egypt. Having said that, and in looking to the future, we continue to support the current process of rebuilding Egypt with a new constitution and ethos, and support the whole community as it calls for change.

We pray, that with the good intention of all to move past these challenging times in Egypt’s history, the implementation of equality before the law will ensure that Egypt becomes a better place for all citizens on the basis that they are Egyptian before anything else, whether they are the numeric majority or minority, man or woman, young or old, secular or religious, Bahá’i, Christian or Muslim.”

Testifying alongside Bishop Angaelos, Mr Samuel Tadros, Research Fellow at Hudson Institute’s Centre for Religious Freedom said:

“In order to prevent recurring attacks there must be a process put in place to identify the most vulnerable villages in Egypt that are likely to experience attacks. The Egyptian government should be urged to implement this and the United States may be able to provide resources to help with that process. The Egyptian police also need a security protocol to deal with mob violence and should establish a crisis office within the Egyptian presidency to deal specifically with that issue, as well as the development of a rapid response unit. We also need reform in the legal system, and localised reward and punishment system.”

Other witnesses included:

Zuhdi Jasser, M.D. Vice Chair, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom

Morad Abou-Sabe, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Rutgers University         
Mr. Tad Stahnke, Director of Policy and Programs, Human Rights First

*Ends*

Resources:

·         Watch the Hearing here: http://1.usa.gov/18P78qK

·         Transcript and Copy of Testimony submitted to Congress available upon request.

·         Statement by Bishop Angaelos, highlighting the increasing incitement and violence threatening and claiming the lives of Christians in Egypt. http://bit.ly/1cn7eBf

Press Release: HG Bishop Angaelos will testify at a Congressional Hearing on 'Human Rights Abuses in Egypt' on 10 December 2013

PRESS RELEASE

For immediate use

9 December 2013

Coptic Orthodox Church UK

Media and Communications Office

Coptic Orthodox Church (Europe)

Media and Communications Office

On 10 December 2013, His Grace Bishop Angaelos, General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom will testify at a Congressional Hearing in Washington DC on ‘Human Rights Abuses in Egypt’ during a Joint Subcommittee Hearing comprised of the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations, and the Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa.

At 9am EST on 10 December, also deemed Human Rights Day, Bishop Angaelos and four other witnesses, will highlight the severity and frequency of human rights abuses facing Christians and minority groups in Egypt both pre and post 2011 uprising.

Bishop Angaelos will also identify the increased persecution of religious minorities over the past decades as made manifest in process and policy, which has translated into dealings with citizens on unequal grounds, inevitably resulting in greater division and marginalisation.

Alongside Bishop Angaelos, witnesses include:

Zuhdi Jasser, M.D. Vice Chair, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom

Mr. Samuel Tadros, Research Fellow, Centre for Religious Freedom, Hudson Institute

Morad Abou-Sabe, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Rutgers University         
Mr. Tad Stahnke, Director of Policy and Programs, Human Rights First

*Ends*

Resources:

Live Feed from Congress available here: http://1.usa.gov/1bRPvqK

House Committee on Foreign Affairs: http://1.usa.gov/18P78qK