In the shadow of ISIS: Human rights and religious minorities in Iraq, Brussels - Main contents
| date | June 30, 2015 |
|---|---|
| city | Brussels, Belgium |
| location | Paul-Henri Spaak building (PHS) i  |
| attending | M.R. (Marietje) Schaake i et al. |
| organisation | European Parliament Delegation of Democrats 66 i |
Human rights and religious minorities in Iraq
Tuesday, 30th of June
European Parliament, room PHS 7C050
Hosted by Josef Weidenholzer, Marietje Schaake, Ana Gomes, Cornelia Ernst
Registration: please contact josef.weidenholzer@europarl.europa.eu
The conference aims at bringing together representatives of religious minorities from Iraq with European actors and policymakers to discuss recent developments, repercussions and opportunities. Foreseen are three main panels with a focus on the situation of specific religious groups in Iraq, specifically of Yazidi, Assyrian Christian and Shiite faith and others.
09.00 - 09.30 Opening & Introduction on “Religious minorities in Iraq”
CHAIR: Josef Weidenholzer, Member of the European Parliament
Statements by MEPs Marietje Schaake (ALDE), Ana Gomes (S&D), Cornelia Ernst (GUE)
Delavar Ajgeiy, Head of The Mission to European Union, Kurdistan Regional Government
Akram Mohammed Jammo, director of Non-Governmental Office, Iraqi Kurdistan (tbc)
Designated Ambassador of Iraq in Belgium
Keynote by Michiel Leezenberg, University Amsterdam
09.30 - 11.30 1st Panel: Political and humanitarian situation of Yazidis
CHAIR: Mirza Dinnayi, Head of Organisation Air Bridge Iraq & KRG Advisor for Disputed Areas in Iraq
Mato Naif, Governor Kojo (small village taken over by ISIS)
Dr. Hasan Nagham, Gynaecologist and volunteer aid worker for an NGO in Iraq
Hayder Shesho, “Shingal`s protection unit”
Mamou Farhan Othman, Director of the European Studies Centre, University of Duhok
Jamil Suleiman Haydar, Former Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources Iraq
Prince Breen Tahseen, Iraqi diplomat
Khairi Elias Ali, Director General Yezidi Affairs, KRG Ministry of Religious Affairs (tbc)
Leyla Ferman, Co-President of the Yezidi Federation of Europe (tbc)
11.30 - 13.00 2nd Panel: Political and humanitarian situation of Assyrian Christians
CHAIR: Member of the European Parliament (tbc)
Naher Arslan, Assyrian Institute of Belgium
Yonadam Yawsep Kanna, Iraqi National Assembly
Diya Butrus Sulaywa, National Chaldean Council and Human rights Kurdistan
Emanuel Khoshaba Youkhana, Archimendite, Assyrian Patriotic Party
13.00 - 15.00 Lunch- Break
15.00 - 16.30 3rd Panel: Political and humanitarian situation of Shiite origin
CHAIR: Michiel Leezenberg, University Amsterdam
Goran Alkakay, Kakai-Intellectual, Niniveh Plains
Hassan Aydinli, European Turkmen Friendship, EU Representative
Khalid Mahmood, International Organization for Human Rights Kurdistan
16.30 - 18.00 4th Panel: The situation of smaller religious minorities of Iraq
Chair: Thomas Schmidinger, LeEZA , Lecturer, University of Vienna
Salam Farhan, Director of Mandaean Human Rights Group
Dr. Shuhaib G. Nashi, Pediatrician in Morristown, NJ
Hagop Simonian, Armenian Youth Federation
Video-Statement: Aseel Salam Nimah (tbc)
18.15 - 19.45 Final Working Groups
19.45 - 20.00 Closing
