Syriac Universal Alliance speaks at the UN in Geneva

    During a historic two-day Forum at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, the Syriac Universal Alliance (SUA) delivered a speech with its own recommendations on the Effective Political Participation of Minorities.

    The Geneva Meeting took place on 12 and 13 November, 2009. It was the Second Session of the Forum on Minority Issues and it was attended by more than 500 people from all parts of the globe, including country delegates, human rights bodies and affected minority groups.

    The President of the Human Rights Council, Ambassador Alex Van Meeuwen (Belgium), Chairperson of the Forum, United States (U.S.) Congresswoman Barbara Lee and the UN's Independent Expert on Minority Issues, Ms Gay MacDougall, and many others, stressed that no country has yet solved the problems faced by minorities. It was made clear that the exclusion of ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities from policy and decision-making processes was one key reason for conflicts within global societies.

    The SUA delegation to Geneva was headed by its President, Johny Messo, and its Human Rights and UN NGO Director, Daniel Gabriel. They were assisted by Basil Ozkaya (Germany) and Malki Afram (Sweden), two of SUA’s five UN NGO delegates to the UN Office in Geneva.

SPEECH TO THE UNITED NATIONS FORUM

    Mr Gabriel delivered a speech at the Forum and asked that critical points be taken into consideration in the draft of the Recommendations. SUA prides itself in being the only recognized Aramaic-speaking NGO with the UN’s ECOSOC and used its position to propose the following points on behalf of the Aramean (Syriac) people:

1. Recognition: Many people in society, like the Syriac (Arameans) in Turkey, are not even recognised as an official “Minority”. This must be a first step.
2. Informing Governments about the Importance and Benefits of this Recognition: This will help in achieving recognition and rights of minorities being granted
3. Neglect of Uprooted minorities: Should the Minority Rights also apply to people living in excile like the Syriac (Arameans) in the Diaspora today.
4. State-sponsored Media: UN assisting with Minority based media and not just on a local level
5. Follow up: UN ensuring compliance and promotion of Minority Rights

    SUA’s oral statement made clear that the Arameans are the Indigenous People of Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon as well as a National Minority. SUA also spoke of the obliteration of the Syriac Aramean people in Iraq and Turkey, the general lack of human rights experienced by the Arameans, including political participation, the lack of recognition as an Indigenous People or National Minority, the lack of protection of our endangered language and people and the lack of promotion of our Aramaic heritage and language.

    Interestingly, SUA’s speech followed shortly after the one by the Turkish Country Representative and the SUA were quick to refer to his speech demanding facts on the ground instead of rhetoric. On SUA’s website, you can read both the spoken (shorter) (download as PDF) and the submitted (longer) speech (download as PDF) by SUA.

CONCLUSION

    The event was a huge success for the Human Rights Council. The Chairperson of the Forum will prepare a summary of the discussions of the Forum. The Forum will then focus on outcomes in the form of thematic recommendations to all stakeholders. With the final Report by the Independent Expert, Ms Gay MacDougall will present the recommendations to the Human Rights Council at its thirteenth regular session in March 2010.

    SUA’s NGO delegation to the UN Office in Geneva will also attend this important session in March 2010. In the meantime, SUA will continue to study the draft recommendations on Minority Rights and communicate its outcome to the UN on, with a special focus on the Aramean (Syriac) people in Turkey and Iraq, not to mention on all those who live in exile throughout the world.

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