Good morning, Mr. Chairman, and honourable members of the committee.
I represent the Mandaean Human Rights Group. The Sabian Mandaean community of Iraq is a small ethnic religious minority, which is one of the oldest gnostic religions and is the only living one still surviving in the Middle East. This minority is ethnically distinct from its Arab neighbours and has its own language and culture. The religion is independent from all other monotheistic religions and follows the teaching of John the Baptist. These are peaceful, knowledge-loving people. This peaceful religion prohibits violence in any form.
In the past, the Mandaeans have managed to coexist among their neighbours despite suffering incidents of persecution and government-imposed discrimination. However, since 2003, the Mandaeans have become the target of a sustained and violent campaign by insurgents and militia extremists. Accounts of murders, rapes, kidnappings, forced conversions, and financial exploitation committed against hundreds of Mandaeans in the last five years necessitates an immediate investigation.
Mandaean women suffer the most persecution at the hands of extremist insurgents and militia, who consider them products of treasure. The escalating kidnappings and rapes of Mandaean women have gone unpunished. Many families, young girls, and even children have been subject to forced conversion. In an effort to destabilize the country, the insurgent groups have purposely singled out and persecuted the Iraqi religious minorities. The Sabian Mandaeans are small in number and are not protected constitutionally or socially within Iraq, despite the constitutional reforms under the transitional and current governments.
Since their religion prohibits self-defence, the Mandaeans do not carry weapons and will not reciprocate these attacks. Instead, they choose to stand behind the rule of law, which currently is not protecting them. Furthermore, the Mandaeans do not have a particular area inside Iraq to which they can relocate for safety. Out of 60,000 Mandaeans who lived in Iraq, more than 80%, unfortunately, have fled the country, leaving their homes and occupations. Currently there are more than 12,000 refugees in the neighbouring countries of Syria and Jordan alone.
The United Nations articles on the protection of indigenous ethnic and religious minorities apply to the Mandaean situation. Article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights against genocide should be considered. There is a moral obligation for the free world, and particularly Canada, to take active and immediate steps to help prevent this small and peaceful community from becoming extinct. We implore the Canadian government to urge the Iraqi government to stop the insurgents and sympathizing religious groups from continuing the systematic attack on the ethnic and religious minorities in Iraq. We also ask the international community to press the Iraqi government to take active steps for the protection of the Mandaean community's culture, historic artifacts, and property, and to provide adequate funds to help Mandaean refugees.
We ask the committee to make the following recommendations to the Canadian government:
The Canadian government should create specific guidelines that recognize the plight of Mandaean people and give them priority as refugees.
The Canadian government should grant interviews to all the remaining Mandaean refugee seekers in Jordan, Syria, Yemen, and Indonesia.
The Canadian government should allow all Mandaean Canadians to sponsor their asylum-seeker relatives.
The Canadian government should encourage the UNHCR to find a humane and durable solution for those refugees who do not ultimately resettle in Canada. When Canada takes leadership--just as it has always done in situations like this--in recognizing this group, the UNHCR will be better able to apply consistent adjudication standards in the different countries that currently host Mandaeans.
Canada has always been compassionate when people have faced such dreadful and dangerous situations. I urge you to give this matter your urgent attention. These peaceful people are in grave danger.
I would like to finish by making reference to a report published by the Mandaean Human Rights Group in March 2008. It outlines in detail the crimes being committed on our people, from kidnapping to murder to rape. I would like to present that report to the committee. I do apologize that it's only in English. I've left a copy with the official here.
Thank you.