In Response to Genocide: Relief and Autonomy for Victims in Northern Iraq
Resolution adopted at the EPP Congress, St. Julian’s (Malta), 29 – 30 March 2017
Share this paper:
Download this paper:
Whereas in Iraq, the number of Christians has dwindled from 1,400,000 before 2003 to less than 250,000 today; and whereas in Syria, Christians made up 8-10% of the population in 2010, today less than half of these are estimated to remain in the country;
Whereas on 4 February 2016, the European Parliament “[stressed] that the so-called ‘ISIS/Daesh’ is committing genocide against Christians and Yazidis, and other religious and ethnic minorities, who do not agree with the so-called ‘ISIS/Daesh’ interpretation of Islam”; and whereas genocide designations have been made by the Council of Europe, the White House and the US State Department, the US Congress, the British House of Commons, the Canadian government and the Canadian Parliament, the French National Assembly, the Lithuanian Parliament and the Australian House of Representatives;
Whereas on 27 October 2016, the European Parliament stated that “maximum autonomy and security protection for the communities of the Nineveh Plain, Tal Afar and Sinjar within the framework of the federal Republic of Iraq would restore and preserve the fundamental human rights, including property rights, of the indigenous peoples of that region”;
Whereas the Mosul offensive is expected to end within the first eight months of 2017; and whereas the lack of political preparations for this offensive risks leading to new conflicts, thus preventing the rehabilitation and repatriation of areas — the Nineveh Plain (Christians, Shabaks), Sinjar (Yazidis), Tal Afar (Turkmen) — previously under ISIS/Daesh occupation;
Whereas the Nineveh Plain is currently divided by Kurdish and Iraqi troops, a situation which, if it becomes permanent, could end all hopes for autonomy for Christians (Chaldeans/Syriacs/Assyrians); and whereas policing and military protection without strong local inclusion would make repatriation efforts very difficult, as internally displaced people (IDPs) and refugees, ever since troops left Nineveh unprotected upon the arrival of ISIS/Daesh, no longer trust the authorities in Baghdad and Erbil;
Whereas the absence of a genocide designation by the United Nations Security Council means that there is currently no systematic gathering of evidence, which ultimately risks leading to impunity for ISIS/Daesh perpetrators;
Whereas the UNHCR has planned not to set up an office in the Nineveh Plain, indicating that Chaldean/Syriac/Assyrian areas will not be prioritised;
The European People´s Party:
Urges EU Member States to work towards a binding resolution by the United Nations Security Council to create a legal framework — either by the creation of both a mechanism to collect and secure evidence as well as an ad-hoc tribunal, or else by referral to the International Criminal Court — to prosecute members of ISIS/Daesh for crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide against Christians, Yazidis and other religious and ethnic minorities;
Calls on the EU and its Member States to provide assistance, including financial assistance, to support entities which are conducting criminal investigations, developing investigative and judicial capacities, collecting evidence and preserving the chain of evidence for prosecution in domestic courts, hybrid courts and internationalised domestic courts, and which are enabling capacity-building with respect to individuals who are suspected to have committed genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes in Iraq or Syria;
Calls on the EU and its Member States to ensure that the assistance provided by the United Nations to address humanitarian, stabilisation and recovery needs does not exclude individuals or groups which have been victims of crimes against humanity, war crimes or genocide;
Calls on the EU and its Member States to work towards preserving IDPs’ and refugees’ right to return to Nineveh Plain, Tal Afar and Sinjar, and to any of their property which has been taken by ISIS/Daesh;
Calls on the EU and its Member States to support autonomy, as granted by article 125 of the Iraqi Constitution, for ethno-religious minorities in the Nineveh Plain, Tal Afar and Sinjar.
The EPP Manifesto outlines the basic principles of the Party summary.
The EPP Manifesto outlines the basic principles of the Party summarising who we are, what our values are, what challenges are we facing and what vision we have for the future. The Manifesto was developed in parallel to the EPP Platform document within the EPP Working Group 1 for “European Policy”.
The EPP Platform is the core programme of our party outlining our main values, explaining the challenges our society is facing and presenting our vision for the future of European Union.
The Party Platform was developed in EPP Working Group 1 for “European Policy” chaired by EPP President Wilfried MARTENS ?and EPP Vice President Peter HINTZE. The Working Group consists of delegates of EPP member parties who prepared and worked?on this document for more than two years and received input?from the drafting committee as well as senior and young experts. The document was adopted at the 2012 EPP Congress in Bucharest, thus replacing the Basic Programme of Athens from 1992.
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. You may accept or manage your choices by clicking below.
Privacy Policy
Disclaimer
The European People’s Party (EPP) maintains this website to enhance public access to information about its initiatives. Our goal is to keep this information timely and accurate. If errors are brought to our attention, we will try to correct them. This privacy policy will explain how our organisation uses the personal data we collect from you when you use our website.
If you would like to read more about our use of cookies please view our Privacy policy.
Your Privacy
When you visit any web site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. This information might be about you, your preferences or your device and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to. The information does not usually directly identify you, but it can give you a more personalised web experience.
Because we respect your right to privacy, you can choose not to allow some types of cookies. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings. However, blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer.
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms.
You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site.
All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.