Recommendation 2055 (2014) Final version

Threats against humanity posed by the terrorist group known as “IS”: violence against Christians and other religious or ethnic communities

Author(s): Parliamentary Assembly

Origin - Assembly debate on 2 October 2014 (34th Sitting) (see Doc. 13618, report of the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy, rapporteur: Ms Theodora Bakoyannis). Text adopted by the Assembly on 2 October 2014 (34th Sitting).

1. The Parliamentary Assembly refers to its Resolution 2016 (2014) on threats against humanity posed by the terrorist group known as “IS”: violence against Christians and other religious or ethnic communities, whereby it expresses its deep concern about the threats posed by this terrorist group and draws attention once again to the situation of Christian and other religious and ethnic communities in the Middle East, in general, and in Iraq and Syria in particular.

2. The Assembly therefore asks the Committee of Ministers to:

2.1. develop the political aspect of its annual Exchanges on the religious dimension of intercultural dialogue, and consider discussing the different religious perspectives of human dignity;

2.2. envisage possible ways to monitor the situation of governmental and societal restrictions on religious freedom and related rights in Council of Europe member States and in States in the Council of Europe’s neighbourhood, and report periodically to the Assembly;

2.3. bring to the attention of the governments of the member States the specific recommendations included in Resolution 2016 (2014), in particular as regards the need to increase humanitarian aid supplies to refugee camps across Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, and expand aid programmes further.