OCTOBER 2023

FEATURE
Fighting for the Underserved
The Rights of Religious and National Minorities in Iraq
BY WEAM NAMOU
Diya Butros Sliwa, a Chaldean
political activist, lives in Erbil,
Iraq, but he gives talks around
the world on human rights. He visited
North America recently where he gave
talks and interviews in Michigan, in
Canada, and he also plans to travel to
Washington, DC. His goal is to bring
awareness to the status of the rights
of religious and national minorities in
Iraq and Kurdistan.
On Saturday, September 2, 2023, he
lectured at the Mandaean Association
of Michigan in Warren. The Iraqi Human
Rights Society in the US, established
in 1994, hosted the lecture.
“Today Nineveh is in danger,” said
Sliwa. “It’s in a terrible dire state. I say
this with honesty and confidence.”
Sliwa is the president of the Civil
Rights and Citizenry Organization; for
over 20 years, he has watched the situation
for Christians and other minorities
in Iraq go from “worse to worser.”
After the American-led coalition forces
ousted Saddam Hussein on March 19,
2003, attempts to create a new constitution
began. In October 2005, a
national referendum approved a new
constitution.
“Regrettably, the new and current
constitution that was adopted in 2005
had many glitches,” Sliwa said. Then
he brought forth several examples.
The constitution establishes Islam
as the official religion and states that
no law may be enacted contradicting
the established provisions of Islam.
Freedom of Religion or Belief Article
18 of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights (UDHR) says we all have
the right to our own beliefs, to have a
religion, have no religion, or to change
it. Yet in Iraq, if someone changes from
Islam to another religion, they face the
death penalty. Furthermore, if either
parent of a child is Muslim and the
child is under 18 years of age, the child
must be Muslim.
“So where is the freedom of the
child?” asked Sliwa.
Diya Butros Sliwa (left) and Hamid Murad (right), president of the Iraqi
Human Rights Society in the US.
He’s also concerned about the
rights of women. According to Amnesty
International, the Iraqi parliament
continues to fail to criminalize
domestic violence despite an increase
in “honor killings” and other forms of
gender-based violence documented
by national NGOs. Recently, a bill was
The Iraqi parliament
continues to fail to
criminalize domestic
violence despite an
increase in “honor
killings” and other
forms of genderbased
violence.
drafted that, if it passes, will cause
Iraqi citizens to face death or life in
prison for same-sex relations, a minimum
of seven years in prison for promoting
sexuality, and up to three years
for imitating women.
Sliwa said that in addition to these
violations, Iraqis are deprived of basic
human rights such as education,
healthcare, economy, housing, and
others. “They are deprived of life,”
he opines. “The situation, however, is
worse for minorities since they are less
in number. They don’t have armed militias
and their lands have been stolen
from them.”
He adds that the number of Christians
in Iraq has gone down from 1.5
million in 2003 to currently “a number
that’s too little to count.”
“There’s no real census to document
that population,” he said, although
the U.S. State Department 2022
Report claims the number is estimated
at 150,000.
“We seek a democratic framework
for Iraq, one that would uphold human
rights for everyone, especially
minorities,” he said. “Iraqis deserve
stability, including relief from political
violence.”
Sliwa reminded listeners that ISIS
controlled the Nineveh Plain region
from 2014 to 2016, causing the inner
displacement of more than one million
Iraqi citizens within their own land.
“It’s a painful situation,” he said.
“Imagine that, in your own country,
you are displaced, living in tents. You
are abandoned and forgotten.”
PHOTO BY WEAM NAMOU
When the region was liberated
from ISIS in 2016, the government
asked people to return to their homes.
“But ISIS is still present there and has
sleeping cells. The government is playing
a political game. They are currently
taking the possessions and assets of
the Christians.”
While the constitution promotes
minority rights and protection of Iraq’s
ethnic and religious diversity, intolerance
and discrimination have caused
the number of Christians to decline to
the point where, “One day we will end
up like the Jews.” Currently, there are
said to be three Jews left in Iraq. “If you
can’t protect your own home, then you
will consider escaping from it,” he said.
Why should the world care? “Human
rights and terrorism are not a local
or national issue,” he said. “It’s a global
topic and everyone is responsible for
the protection against terrorism and the
protection of minorities in Iraq.”
He pointed out that the United Nations
did not do its duty for the minorities
in Iraq the way they had for Kosova,
Bosnia, or other wars that took
place in other parts of the world. “The
reason for that needs to be studied and
addressed,” he said.
During the question-and-answer
portion of the event on September 2,
one woman commented, “I don’t like
the word ‘minority’ for us. Who chose
me to be a minority? Why am I considered
a minority in my own country?
I’m a minority by number, but not by
my history and essence. That word
does not suit us.”
“We shouldn’t be embarrassed by
the word ‘minority’,” responded Sliwa.
“Still, we should be considered a
majority and get the same rights as the
majority,” she countered.
“No one is getting their rights in
the Arab world,” was Sliwa’s reply.
“So, by being a minority, we have more
rights.”
That’s the kind of logic that suits
Iraq right now.
22 CHALDEAN NEWS OCTOBER 2023