- William Ward meet Mr. Sam Brownback the United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom at the U.S. Department of State and Mr.Knox Thames Special Advisor for Religious Minorities.
- Mr. Warda: Our problem is not only the violations of ISIS, but infringement to religious minorities in Iraqi laws
Mr. William Warda, Director of Public Relations of Hammurabi Human Rights Organization participated in the First Ministerial Conference to Advance Religious Freedom hosted by the U.S. State Department and at the invitation of the Secretary of State Mr. Mike Pompeo over the past week (24-26) July 2018 in Washington.
During his participation Mr. Warda met Mr. Sam Brownback the United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom at the U.S. Department of State , as part of the event held by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum on the sidelines of the Ministerial Conference sponsored by the US government.
At the meeting , Mr. William Warda spoke about the importance of the Ministerial Conference in presenting the issues of religious minorities and to look for ways to address them, pointing out that the problem of religious minorities in Iraq does not stop at the heinous crimes committed by ISIS, but there are also laws and policies affecting the rights of religious minorities, some of them relate to some legal provisions that still constitute restrictions on religious freedoms, such as Article (26) of the Unified National Card Act, and policies relating to the participation of minorities in decision-making positions in various state institutions, as well as the question of the violation of property.
Mr. Warda clarified, when demanding compensation for Christians, Yazidis , Baptist Mandaeans and others, this does not necessarily mean only material compensation, but moral compensation and achieving positive discrimination in terms of increasing their participation in State institutions and appointments, also in state decisions as equal citizens in terms of rights and duties.
He pointed out that Hammurabi Human Rights Organization is working side by side with state institutions, especially the Follow-up and Implementation Committee for National Reconciliation, to address gaps and problems and work to support reform in minority areas and raise abuses. He called for supporting all efforts to enable the state to achieve security and stability for what is good for all Iraqis without discrimination.
Mr. Warda also met Mr.Knox Thames Special Advisor for Religious Minorities at the US State Department expressing his thanks for his efforts to hold such a conference and the invitation to Hammurabi Human Rights Organization to participate. He also discussed the importance of coordination and cooperation to promote religious freedom in Iraq and to build peace and stability. .
