Syria: Return of refugees is essential for peace, says Holy See

The return home of those displaced within the country or who have fled abroad, is an essential condition for building a plural society that respects the rights of everyone, including minorities. Five years on from the start of the conflict, the UN has published the figures describing this unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe

Syrian refugee children in Turkey.

17/03/2016 - FRANCESCO PELOSO - VATICAN CITY

Immediate access for all humanitarian organisations in all areas involved in the conflict to bring aid and assistance to worn out civilians, a commitment on the part of the international community in the peace negotiations, involving all parties in question, protection of the rights of ethnic and religious minorities to build a plural society in which everyone’s rights are respected, the return of refugees and internally displaced peopled as an “essential condition for reconciliation” and the sustainability of a peace process. These are some of the key points in the Holy See’s proposal for the solution of the Syrian crisis. 

Last 15 March, which marked the fifth anniversary of the Syrian civil war, Mgr. Richard Ghyra, Chargé d’affaires of the Permanent Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations in Geneva, delivered an address at the 31st session of the Human Rights Council, which focused on Syria. Crucially, the Holy See, which was the first of the world’s major institutions to speak, posed the question of the return home of the millions of Syrian refugees and displaced people (a total of approximately 11,5 million people according to recent figures released by the UN, split into 5 million refugees and 5,5 million internally displaced people; of the former, 4,8 million people approximately are in neighboring countries – Turkey is hosting most of them – and in Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Iraq and North Africa; 130 thousand approx. are in Europe). This is a crucial aspect which the Holy See links to the issue of respect for ethnic and religious minorities, in other words the creation of a pluralistic, open and well-structured state that recognize everyone’s rights, essentially the opposite of an “ethnic state”. 

“A crucial dimension for reaching a sustainable solution in the peace building process is respect for a pluralistic society where ethnic, linguistic or religious minorities have their place as full members of society and the Syrian State,” said the Vatican representative in Geneva. He added: “The survival and the well-being of the aforesaid minorities is the guarantee of a democratic State, respectful of differences.” “In fact, the recognition of their rights does not weaken in any way the State, on the contrary, it enriches and strengthens it. In this sense, the return of refugees and IDPs is an essential condition for reconciliation, reconstruction and sustainability of any solution of the conflict.” 

Mgr. Ghyra highlighted the need, previously accentuated by the Holy See, to “begin immediately the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the population in need and to remove all obstacles so that humanitarian organizations can have access to all areas. Without the protection of civilians and their human rights there cannot be a just political solution.” On the fifth anniversary of the start of the Syrian civil war, the UN has published detailed figures on the catastrophic humanitarian situation there, which set the death toll at at least 290 thousand, although the most recent estimates given also by New York Times sources, speak of 470 thousand deaths. 

The figures published in recent days are shocking. According to the UN, around 13,5 million people are in need of assistance, including 6,5 million displaced people; more than three in four Syrians live in poverty and 67% of them in extreme poverty. More than 2,1 million children do not go to school and over 5,000 school buildings are unfit for use. In February 2016, the report explains referring to UNICEF data this time, 10% of Syrian children seeking refuge in Egypt, 39% of those in Iraq, 14% of those in Jordan, 49% of those in Lebanon and 61% of those in Turkey had no access to education. In the region as a whole, almost 700 thousand Syrian children aged between 5 and 17 are excluded from any form of school education whatsoever. One in three people – 6,3 million – are exposed to food insecurity. In October 2015, 2,4 million people were at high risk of food insecurity. Other striking figures show that 2,4 million people suffer as a result of a lack of adequate housing, more than 11 million people require medical assistance, including 25 thousand people who are wounded each month. The economic situation is also disastrous: four in five Syrians live in poverty, since the rise of the crisis, the average life expectancy has dropped by about 20 years and one in four children risks developing a mental health disorder. Most hospitals and homes have been reduced to rubble. Although the international community is pouring enormous sums of money into Syria in an attempt to stem the crisis, there are still insufficient resources. 

The Holy See has also emphasized another dark aspect of the Syrian conflict and that is the lack of respect for international human rights: “Crimes against humanity are frequent and unpunished; intentional attacks against the civilian population are daily,” Ghyra said. In recent days, other reports have stated that at least 1,500 victims of attacks carried out using chemical weapons produced during the conflict and used by both government forces and rebels. Unjustified arrests, tortures, religious persecution and beheading are among the dark chapters of this tragedy which Christian communities have also fallen victim to. However, according to the UN, up until 6 September 2015, 67,651 abductions took place over the previous four years. A report on disappearances in Syria (“Gone without a Trace: Victims of Forced Disappearance in Syria”), jointly issued by the Syrian Network for Human Rights, London, and Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, Geneva on 30 August, claims government forces are responsible for about 96% of all documented disappearances. 

Finally, the Holy See emphasized that “in the process of reconciliation and peace building the inclusion of all parties is necessary”. As such, the resumption of negotiations, the announced withdrawal of Russian forces and the first feeble ceasefires that came into force, still offer a glimmer of hope which is nevertheless vital in putting an end to the violence. This was also the opinion expressed by the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin. 

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Muslimer må selv ordne opp med sine voldelige trosfeller.

VG - HANS RUSTAD 08.07.2005 kl. 08.25

Hvis man mener alvor med et multi-kulti samfunn, snakker man ærlig og åpent med Europas muslimer om hvilken knipe de befinner seg i. Men hvorfor må vi gå til Amerika for å finne noen som tør å formulere dette? Thomas L. Friedmans ytring kunne like gjerne vært tenkt i Oslo!

Men først en liten digresjon: Ingenting blir som før. 7/7 tok fra oss noe av vår frihet, skriver Friedman. Det er jordnært, realistisk. Motsatt Aftenposten og resten av norsk presse som roper: «nå må vi ikke gi slipp på noen av våre friheter, for da har vi tapt! Vi må være forsiktig med å gi noen av våre rettigheter på båten, selv om det er for å få større sikkerhet.»

The attacks are also deeply disturbing because when jihadist bombers take their madness into the heart of our open societies, our societies are never again quite as open. Indeed, we all just lost a little freedom yesterday.

Men noe av friheten har vi allerede tapt når vi ikke vet hvem sidemannen er. Hvilket leder Friedman over til spørsmålet: har Europas muslimer forstått dette?

Hvis terrorister slår til i Riyadh er det en muslim-muslim problem. For Riyadh er homogent.

But when Al-Qaeda-like bombings come to the London Underground, that becomes a civilizational problem. Every Muslim living in a Western society suddenly becomes a suspect, becomes a potential walking bomb. And when that happens, it means Western countries are going to be tempted to crack down even harder on their own Muslim populations.

Hvilket bidrar til at annengenerasjons sinte unge distanserer seg enda mer fra Vesten.

Det er ikke lett for Vesten å slå tilbake, for jihadistene har ikke lenger noe senter. Det er muslimer som samfunn som må forstå at hvis de skal ha noen fremtid i Europa, så må de ekskommunisere jihadismen. De må bli mere SYNLIGE og VISE sin motstand mot ekstemismen. Hvis ikke vil det gå dem ille.

Because there is no obvious target to retaliate against, and because there are not enough police to police every opening in an open society, either the Muslim world begins to really restrain, inhibit and denounce its own extremists – if it turns out that they are behind the London bombings – or the West is going to do it for them. And the West will do it in a rough, crude way – by simply shutting them out, denying them visas and making every Muslim in its midst guilty until proven innocent.

Svaret er ikke politiovervåking. Svaret er kommunitets-kontroll. Et sosialt fellesskap som bruker sanksjoner mot tendenser til jiahdisme. All forkynnelse i Moskeene bør også nøye overvåkes. Det blir ikke lett. 

To this day, no major Muslim cleric or religious body has ever issued a fatwa condemning Osama bin Laden.

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Commentary:

Our THREE wishes to break the global oligarch´s dream of world domination.

1. Peace in Syria and Iraq allowing ALL refugees to return to their countries.

2. A successful presidency for Donald Trump to break the Illuminati/Bilderberg dominance.

3. A successful BREXIT as the beginning of dismantling the European Union.

Pray to God that our wishes will be heard so that we may save humanity from the evil forces.

Administrator

THE OTIUM POST