DUSHANBE, June 30, 2016, Asia-Plus -- ADF International on June 29 launched Never Again – Legal Responses to a Broken Promise in the Middle East published by Kairos Publications.

The book documents the ongoing genocide of Christians and other religious minorities in Syria and Iraq, highlights the failings of the international community to end the carnage, and provides a blueprint for adapting international laws on genocide to adequately respond to terrorist groups like ISIS/Daesh.

“No person should live in fear of being killed, tortured, or oppressed because of their religious beliefs,” said Ewelina Ochab, Legal Counsel for ADF International and author of the book during the launch event at the European Parliament. “The international community and all governments should condemn these atrocities against Christians and other religious minorities. The crimes ISIS is committing in the Middle East are clearly genocide under any definition.  We can’t afford to say ‘never again’ again, especially when we have the chance to come together to stop it.”

Hosted by Swedish MEP Lars Adaktusson and Spanish MEP and former lawyer at the International Criminal Court Javier Nart, ADF International invited Members of the European Parliament, journalists, civil society, church representatives, and key influencers to the book launch event in order to address the need for urgent action.

Lars Adaktusson MEP spoke about the value of the book in ultimately ending the ongoing atrocities in the Middle East while Javier Nart MEP stressed the importance of taking immediate concrete steps to safeguard Christians and other religious minorities in Syria and Iraq.

“We have to document the crimes committed against the religious minorities in this region and educate the international community about what is going on.  I hope the book will be a tremendous success and reach the key international decision-makers,” said Jan Figel, Special Envoy for the Promotion of Freedom of Religion and Belief outside the European Union.

Additionally, the US Special Advisor for Religious Minorities in the Near East and South/Central Asia, Knox Thames, attended the book launch. In his remarks he highlighted the need for international collaboration to stop the genocide and to move from words to actions.

Kamel Zozo of SHLOMO, an organization which assembles documentation of the ongoing genocide in Iraq, presented several testimonies from victims of ISIS/Daesh, portraying the atrocities committed against Christians and other religious minorities in the region: “We have collected testimonies from more than 60,000 people who were suffering under ISIS/Daesh. These personal stories are heartbreaking. They contain accounts of girls younger than 10 years of age, who were abducted from their families and supposedly sold into slavery.  While husbands and brothers are often tortured or killed on the spot, their wives and sisters are being raped and given to ISIS/Daesh fighters as war bounty.”

In her concluding remarks Sophia Kuby, Director of EU Advocacy for ADF International, challenged the European Union and all of its Member States in respect of their duty to bring to an end the ongoing atrocities in the Middle East and beyond.