Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn attended the International Conference on the Protection of Victims of Ethnic and Religious Violence in the Middle East in Madrid yesterday, where he called for real solutions for victims of violence in the Middle East, including a process of national reconciliation in Iraq. 

In line with the Paris Conference of 8 September 2015 and its plan of action to assist persons belonging to communities targeted and threatened for ethnic or religious reasons in the Middle East, minorities who have been victims of violence, the Madrid conference aimed to draw up an initial assessment of the measures taken on the basis of the Paris Plan of Action and to identify the most urgent priorities to better guide the international community’s response. 

Concerning the multiple conflicts in the Middle East, including in Iraq and Syria, Minister Asselborn called for political and inclusive solutions, recalling that the vast majority of Daech's victims and terrorist attacks in the Middle East are Muslim. He said that "it would be illusory to think that a total military defeat of Daech will lead to an eradication of its murderous ideology." 

Jean Asselborn said that "we must ensure that the situation of ethnic and religious minorities, which have suffered so much under this scourge, is improving in a fundamental way". To this end, "important reforms will be necessary, including the establishment of a process of national reconciliation in Iraq", and "that the peace talks in Geneva are making concrete progress, under the terms of resolution 2254, the ceasefire is respected, and that humanitarian access is guaranteed throughout the Syrian territory ".

The conference also focused on priority actions relating to the humanitarian, political and judicial aspects, with the aim of promoting diversity and plurality of the region, encouraging reconciliation and stabilization, and facilitating the return of Displaced populations. Minister Asselborn reviewed Luxembourg's contributions to the stabilization process of the region, while stressing the importance of the role of the international community in this context. 

In the margins of the Madrid Conference, Minister Asselborn had an interview with the winner of the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Mind of the European Parliament, Nadia Murad Basee, Yezidi from Iraq and survivor of Daech's slavery. The meeting provided an opportunity to discuss the situation of ethnic and religious minorities in the field, the challenges and threats they face, and the responses that the international community will have to make to improve the situation of all people in the Middle East.