January 2006
H. E. Ban Ki-Moon
Secretary General, United Nations
760 United Nations Plaza
New York, NY 10017
United States of America
Dear Mr. Secretary General,
On behalf of the Assyrian Universal Alliance and all its affiliated organizations worldwide, I would like to extend to you our sincere congratulations on your appointment as the United Nations (UN) Secretary General.
Many issues need to be addressed by the UN Security Council, but the crisis in Iraq is alarming and menacing the whole Middle-Eastern region and global stability. Preventing a civil war in Iraq is of highest importance at this time.
As an indigenous, Christian and ethnic minority in Iraq, the Assyrians have long suffered because of their religious and ethnic identity. They have been deprived of their land and have been victim to several massacres and several other kinds of oppression over the centuries.
Now, in the midst of these vicious and merciless acts, the indigenous Assyrian Christians are suffering more than other segments of the Iraqi society. They are victimized as Iraqis, being Christians and ethnically Assyrians. Killings, kidnappings, rapes and forced Islamisation are daily occurrences for Iraq’s indigenous people. Ethnic cleansing is already being enforced via Arabization, Kurdification, mass exodus and internal displacement.
Although Christians make up 4% of Iraq’s population, the UNHCR reported that from the total 1.8 million Iraqi refugees in Syria, Christians make up 30% of that number. Furthermore, the Iraqi Ministry of Migration and Displacement has said that nearly half of the Christian population has fled Iraq since 2003.
It would be an honor to meet with you urgently to discuss the survival of the Assyrian people and the political transition in Iraq. The indigenous Assyrians strive for security, peace and justice for all Iraqis, and we anticipate your assistance in securing our indigenous and ancestral rights as per the international declarations and covenants.
Yours respectfully,
Emanuel Kamber, Ph.D.
Secretary General