In order to discuss the future of the Christian presence in Iraq, and dignified return of Iraqi refugees, more than 120 leaders of Christian institutions of civil society, researchers and activists, and former ministers, Members of Parliament, heads of administrative units and members of local councils, clerics, and social figures have met in a Conference for consecutive two days, 11th and 12th of December 2009 at the Mansour Hotel in Baghdad.

At this conference which was held under the auspices of His Excellency the Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi, Hammurabi Organization for Human Rights and in cooperation with the International Organization of Christian Solidarity the conferees may alarm the Christian, presence in Iraq declaring that they are facing today likely to disappear in light of the continued drain of emigration, and subjected to successive waves of terrorism since 2003, , Estimated that half of them in Iraq, was forced to flee abroad, and large numbers are still in the neighboring countries Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, and those who live in Iraq and faced internal displacement, violence remains under violence from time to time, most recently in Kirkuk and Nineveh

The conferees discussed the main reasons for migration and ways to strengthen their presence and stay at home, also discussed ways to create conditions and favorable conditions for the voluntary return of a decent and safe for refugees and displaced persons,.

The Conference also considered the situation of human rights of the components of Iraqi society, the few number of Mandaeans and Yazidis, Shabak, and listened to the testimony of participants returned to the homeland in addition to the testimony of victims of violence and displacement

Before the close of the conference, the conferees sent a telegram to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, praising the initiative in the appointment of a special adviser on immigration in his own office, and praised on his quest to promote Democracy in Iraq.

In order to achieve the objectives of the conference to serve the stability of Iraq and the Christian presence there with full respect for the rights stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 13 and 14, on the right to freedom of movement and leave the country.

The meeting put forward the following recommendations:

To the Iraqi government:

• The conferees called the Federal Government of Iraq's and Kurdistan region to do everything in its power to provide security for Christians and other religious and national components in terms of constitutional responsibilities.
• Delegates called for the Iraqi government to take action to ensure the survival of Christians and other religious components and small nationalities, and work to reduce or limit the exodus of the Internal immigration through the support of their constituents and by improving their economic and social and political conditions, and attention to the issue of participation in state institutions to achieve the principle of citizenship and partnership and equality.
• Delegates called the Iraqi government for serious follow-up to the conditions of its citizens refugees in regional countries neighboring Iraq, and to provide more attention to them by helping them financially and meet their needs, and commitment to its pledges on file of refugees in those countries.
• Delegates called on the Iraqi government to accelerate the achievement of elements of the true return, which begins to improve the security situation, to provide financial support and compensation for returnees, sent back to their districts and status in employment and the abolition of all bureaucratic procedures that stand in the face of facilitating the return of their children to universities, institutes and schools, to provide privileges to qualified and to work with all efforts to repair the infrastructure, particularly electricity and water.
• Delegates called on The Iraqi government on, rapid and direct serious attention to reduce the numerous violations affecting Christians in particular in the issue of land encroachment in the villages and towns, in some of their educational curricula that does not respect the privacy of Christianity, and this is contrary to the principles stated in international conventions and the constitution regarding the Iraqi equality among the Iraqis.
• Promote and support civil society organizations that adopt programs concerning the return of the displaced and Iraqi refugees.
• Paying attention to housing through the creation of residential units in various parts of Iraq to the displaced returning to their areas.
• Participants asked the competent ministries to take care of expatriate talent returning to their homeland by providing jobs and needs, and stressed that the brain drain is the greatest danger facing our country.
• The conferees stressed that any hope for the return of refugees will require much more than promises and foremost requires that the state institutions to ensure the security of all its citizens, giving priority to their safety.
• Participants asked the state institutions to give the displaced file inside the utmost importance and those who were forced by political and security conditions to leave their homes and their shops and property and the trend for other regions and towns, they deserve special care so as not to feel alienated in their homeland.
• The conferees stressed that the migration of Christians is not a problem of their own but is a national problem; the loss of a component of the fabric of Iraqi society is a national and civilized loss.
• The conferees called the federal government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government to continue the coordination between them to determine and work to remove all pockets of informal armed groups and putting an end to a militia.
• participants called The Iraqi government to form a high-level panel or commission of work and planning for the return of refugees and displaced Iraqis to their areas of particular components of them, like Christians, Yazidis and Shabak.
• Participants asked the parliament and the government the right of Christians to enjoy the new laws in line with the respect for privacy and religious and cultural traditions of the Christian religion and not forcing them to wear cloths and practice the traditions in which they don't feel their freedom as citizens have the identity of ethnic, religious, linguistic and social which distinguish them from others positively in a country that continues to challenge the many obstacles in the path of democracy and build the institutions of the modern state under the rule of law.
• The conferees called The Federal Iraqi Government to build a national army loyal to the country more than any other loyalties, and to avoid building sectarian formations, military and national units outside the national framework.
• Participants asked Government to facilitate the involvement of the minorities in the security institutions of the army, police and other security configurations, and the need to be based upon their presence in the areas of its sons.
• Conferees called, the government to form a council would care for the "minorities" fall under its banner a number of ministries to be functions of the basic pay attention to the economic situation and development activities and development project in their areas.
• The conferees called the Iraqi government to take practical steps in coordination with the High Commissioner for Refugees UNHCR for the return of Iraqis displaced refugees to their areas, among them Iraqi ethnic and religious minorities by ensuring their security and stop attacks on them.
• Participants asked to clean the security services and the national armed forces of cases of violations, and the multiplicity of loyalties, including Nineveh province.
• Participants asked to deal with the demographic change happening in the cities and regions of Nineveh Plain and the cessation of all previous and unfair decisions which are still standing by the work so far with a view to change, and marginalization and the abolition of the identities of these cities and towns, and the solution for this would be through the establishment or the formation of city councils from the people of the minority to be the decider of a self-determination.
• The conferees called for activating the national reconciliation project, as expressed the willingness of minorities to support and assistance to bridge the gap between the rests of the components of the Iraqi people.
• The conferees stressed that the Christian presence in Iraq of different churches, cultures and trends is the presence of deeply rooted in history, and Chaldeans, Assyrians, Syrians are genuine one people,and completely loyal to Iraq,and demanded a laws that ensure their political, cultural, national rights and accelerate the drafting of laws that protect their rights as stated in article 125 of the new constitution.
• Delegates stressed the need to improve security to reduce the migration of Christianity and urged the members of society to survive, because of losing his home country is losing a lot in the countries of proliferation and the capitals of the world.
• The conferees condemned all forms of terrorism, which hit the cities and villages and innocent people, and stressed that this crime does not have policy or religion and asked the State to take all the measures that would relieve the citizen especially serious attention to the protection of all Christian institutions that could be targeted by the thought abolitionist.
• Participants called all parties and political forces in Iraq, say openly endorsing and supporting the demands of Christians of their rights and participate in the awareness and education campaigns on equality, respect for others and pluralism and diversity.
• The participants thanked the support of the institutions and individuals dealing with a renaissance of Christian people and called on all governments and activists in the field of civil society to extend a helping hand in the social, educational, economic and physical fields in helping Christians to stay home.
• conferees called The Iraqi government to rehabilitate all the churches which are exposed to the terrorist acts of bombing and destruction as a beacon of civilization, heritage and national wealth and a sign of diversity, openness and government interest in all of its citizens.
• The participants called the constitutional amendments committee to adopt the principle of citizenship as orally correct depending on the equality of rights and duties between the sons of Iraq and across the spectrum, without discrimination and the abolition of the principle of sectarian and religious and national currently in force in various political and administrative channels.
• The conferees stressed that refugees and displaced people, both Christians and since the founding of the Iraqi state are entitled to full citizenship, so the need to provide legal facilities for their voluntary return, including victims of the Smeal massacre in 1933 and the massacre of Soria in 1969.
• Participants asked to include attacks, displacement and genocide of the Christians during the long years of the previous rule, to the files as a national investigation of terrorist crimes against humanity.
• Participants asked to re-villages and towns, which had been depopulated by the former regime and remove oversteps by the rehabilitation and compensation and justify its residents.
• participants asked and urged the rights of the martyrs, regardless of the date they died and their families justice, and compensation for them and to give them priority and who wish to resettle them in areas of their presence, by providing supplies a decent living for them.
• participants demanded The Iraqi government that need to declare the results of investigations of the attacks, which affected the Christians of Mosul in September and October 2008 to the public, and the blasts that took place on the Yazidis in Qahtaniya, and Shabak in the town Khazna and the village of Sada, and Turkmen in the town of Taza, Kabbah and Sheekhan and Kakeaya in the village Wardak, and work to provide those responsible for it or who are behind it to justice.
• participants called The Iraqi government to respond to the requests of the people to open the University of the Nineveh Plain in their areas, in particular, that they have the necessary ingredients for the professors and students, professionals, estimated at more than three thousand students, as well as the inclusion of Christian students scholarships outside of Iraq, similar to their peers.
• participants asked to establish a higher institute specializing in Syriac Language and its heritage belongs to UNESCO to keep the language from extinction as a language has served the Middle East and the human heritage, along the lines of the Institute of Aramaic in the town of Maloula in Damascus countryside.
• Conferees surprised at the lack of participants and non-participation of the Ministry of Displacement and Migration on the work of the Conference, and that this deliberate neglect does not reflect the attention of the ministry to give this file what it deserve of priority.
• participants asked the Ministry of Displacement and Migration, taking into account the remaining of the files of displaced returning to Mosul in fear for their lives because of the difficult security situation, and re-registered them after their names removed from lists of displaced
• Delegates praised the positive initiative which was launched by the Prime Minister for appointment as a consultant regard to the affairs of the displaced in his own office.

To the Government of Iraq's Kurdistan region:

• While the conferees paying tribute to, the Government of the region for giving the facilities for returnees and displaced Christians to their homes in Iraq's Kurdistan region, participants demanded the provincial government to work to stop attacks on them and on other components, in the party headquarters and the Asayish (the Kurdish security service) in the areas of Nineveh Plain, and to prevent arrests and detention practices that take place outside the framework of the judiciary.
• While the conferees appreciated values of, construction and rehabilitation of a number of Christian villages destroyed during the former regime in the Anfal operations, and others, participants called for eliminate abuses in some villages that the abuses still exist on them and the need to work on resolution of property conflict.
• Participant asked to re-build the infrastructure (electricity, water and schools) in villages and towns in the province of Kurdistan and development projects to provide employment opportunities for returnees to their areas of origin of the displaced from inside and outside Iraq in order to integrate them into society and treated similar to their counterparts from the region in terms of education and employment to promote survival sustainable.
• The conferees called parties in the Kurdish areas of the Nineveh Plain should not interfere in administrative affairs of the villages and towns of the Nineveh plain.

To the governments of countries where Iraqis exist:

• The conferees called the governments of Iraq's neighbors all to strive to avoid reflection of worsening diplomatic and political relations with the Iraqi government, including a negative impact on the situation of Iraqi refugees who are in their own countries.
• The conferees called governments of the countries where Iraqis asylum-seekers not to speed up the return to Iraq by force, but to review their files and protect them while they are waiting for security and the rule of law to be contribute to the dignified return.

To the UN High Commissioner for Refugees:

• participants asked the Offices High Commissioner for Refugees in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon not look at the files of refugees after 2003 only, but follow-up to the conditions of refugees who have registered before, including whose applications had been rejected, and who do not have the desire to return, and continue to suffer difficult living and psychological conditions there.
• The conferees called The High Commissioner for Refugees UNHCR to strengthen and develop mechanisms to provide protection to refugees in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.

The international community:

• Participants asked to work to ensure a free and fair election in the areas where minorities are living, without the use of violence or threats and work to take actions and measures to prevent fraud with the participation of international monitoring and supervision of the United Nations.
• Delegates praised the role of the authorities in neighboring countries in the reception of Iraqi refugees from different ethnic and religious backgrounds without discrimination, also was praised for its role in making the school doors open to their children, and the granting of stays for families with children in schools, as well as access to free health care in governmental hospitals. But with this, the situation remains difficult, therefore, remains the need for greater international assistance for these refugees and the host countries, by the form in which the benefit of the sons of those States as well as Iraqi communities in order to avoid displeasing among its people. The participants also praised the initiative of the Jordanian government to ignore exceeding residential visa granted and asking the Jordanian government to exempt the Iraqis returning to Iraq from fines of residence visa,
• Participants asked the international community to support civil society organizations which are active in providing assistance to the Iraqis who are in Iraq's neighboring countries such as Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and others.
• Participants stressed on, that opening the doors to refugees and displaced of Christians to migration will not put an end to their problems, but the solution lies in supporting the essential elements of their presence and their development, thus promoting stability in their country Iraq.

To Iraqi" minorities"

• Participants Appealed to the administrations of Iraqi Christian satellite channels at home and abroad not to engage in negative publicity in order to encourage immigration by showing programs, including the events in the Diaspora countries showing that the Western countries as the promised paradise, which stimulates the Christians in the homeland to immigrate.
• Participants asked to work on convergence of views between the various Christian parties and unification of political messages in the common crucial issues.
• The conferees urged the sons of the Christian community to participate massively in the forthcoming electoral process in order to make their voices heard and have an impact on the course of the election.
• Participants asked to work on unification of the ward of the heads of churches and Christian clergy in the interest of Christians in the country on both the religious and national levels.
• Conferees asked the women in the Christian community to desist from their negative role in urging for migration, and called to establish their presence and their role in all fields of political, economic and cultural stability in order to serve the community.
• The participants called to achieve more coordination with all components in Iraq, while stressing that they are (indigenous people) as a better option than classifying "minorities", and on the joint appeal to claim their rights in all areas.
• Conferees were Surprised that Christians, Yezidis and the Shabak MPs in Iraqi and Kurdistan Parliaments did not attend the conference despite the invitation of everyone, without exception, considered that the presence of all concerned would have been richer for their work.

Translated by Najim Al-Khaphaji
Institute For International Law and Human Rights