Group: Iraq's Religious Minorities Face Tough Choices
New levels of violence against Christians and other religious minorities in Iraq are being witnessed, according to a human rights group that has consultative status with the U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
Furthermore, a number of religious minorities are in danger of being wiped out completely from the country, reports Minority Rights Group International (MRG). Christians who have been in the region for thousands of years now find themselves faced with options such as converting to Islam, leaving the country, or facing the possibility that they could be killed.
With reports emerging almost daily about the bloodshed in the country, the desperate situation of minorities has been easily lost in the media.
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According to the latest MRG report, many Iraqi minority members have been abducted, tortured or killed, or forced to assimilate, and many are suffering horrific violence simply due to their religious or ethnic origin.
The United Nations has suggested that there are more than 1.8 million refugees from Iraq across the world, and almost one-third of that number are from minority groups in the country.
The MRG report highlights the fact that a large proportion of the violence could be directly attributed to the victims’ faiths.
Christians especially have been given a negative stigma, and have often been perceived as being supporters of the West. Attacks towards Christians occur frequently as they are thought to be “disrespecting” Muslim traditions.
While larger groups may have tribal or militia protection, minorities suffer as they can do very little to protect themselves, the report explains.
The authors of the report say the situation is deteriorating and they are calling on the international community and the Iraqi government to defend the rights of the country's vulnerable minorities.
