homeEntertainment

EU Parliament passes resolution to protect religious minorities in Iraq after ISIS falls

Jardine Malado October 29, 2016 10:34 PM EST

Displaced people who fled Islamic State militants from Mosul receive aid at Deepaka camp in the northwest of Erbil, Iraq. | REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani

The European Parliament has voted to pass a resolution that will protect religious minorities including Christians and Yazidis after ISIS is driven out of Iraq.

The resolution, tabled by the European People's Party Group, was passed on Thursday with 488 votes in favor, 100 abstentions and 11 in opposition, Christian Today reported.

The motion condemned the mass executions committed by ISIS and noted the report of those who escaped from Mosul that people in the city are starving and just waiting to be liberated.

It also acknowledged that the Nineveh Plain, Tal Afar and Sinjar regions have been "the ancestral homeland of Christians (Chaldeans/Syriacs/Assyrians), Yazidis, Sunni and Shia Arabs, Kurds, Shabak, Turkmen, Kaka'i, Sabaean-Mandeans, and others."

It pointed out that the different minority groups have lived in those regions in relative stability and cooperation for centuries. The resolution warned that the extinction of these minorities could result in destabilization of the region.

Several groups acting on behalf of religious minorities have called for the creation of an autonomous province in the Nineveh Plain.

Lars Adaktusson, who initiated the resolution, was happy with the results and the support exhibited by the Parliament.

"The important issues the resolution is dealing with have been highlighted. We need on the European side to take responsibility and do what we can in order to stabilize the situation [in Iraq] and make it possible for refugees and IDPs to return to their homelands," he told Christian Today.

He noted that the resolution is non-binding but he said that it would "mean a lot" to the religions minorities in the region.

"I also think it's necessary to underline that if we want to preserve the Christian heritage, if we want to keep the Christian tradition within this region, it's essential that these groups will be able to return, and that's not possible without international support," he added.

Iraq was home to around 1.5 million Christians before 2003. It was reported in 2015 that less than 500,000 remain in the country.

Latest News

Sight & Sound’s ‘David’ showcases a king's sincere heart to pursue God

LANCASTER, Pa. — Four years in the making, the production “David” opened at Sight & Sound Theatres this year and explores the journey of an unassuming shepherd boy who became a king.

Presbyterian Church in America votes to leave National Association of Evangelicals

The Presbyterian Church in America has voted to leave the National Association of Evangelicals due to the ...

Secular intolerance of Christians' views is leading to self-censorship, report warns

Secular intolerance has a “chilling effect” on Christians who are having to practice “various forms of self-censorship” as they're finding it difficult to express their faith freely in society, according to a new report detailing accounts from four countries.

Over 50 killed in 'vile and satanic' attack at Nigerian church on Pentecost Sunday

Gunmen suspected to be Islamic Fulani herdsmen barged into a Catholic Church in southwestern Nigeria, opened fire and detonated explosives while the congregation was celebrating Mass on Pentecost Sunday, killing at least 50 worshipers, including women and children. It's feared that some Christians were also abducted after the attack.

Leah Sharibu held captive over 1,500 days in Nigeria, but family advocates haven't lost hope

For more than 1,500 days, Nigerian Christian teenager Leah Sharibu has been held captive by the Boko Haram terrorist group as Christians continue to be the target of attacks in the West African nation.