Canadian deputy and fact-gatherers delegation visiting Iraq

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As part of the fact-gathering mission on human rights, MP (Chris Lewis) of the Conservative Party visited Iraq, with a high-level delegation of fact-gatherers in Canada, the United States and Iceland. ) concerned with human rights, which is based in Toronto, and Ghassan Fouad Saka, head of the Canadian Integrative Group Organization located in the Canadian city of Windsor, as deputy head of the delegation with members of the European Union and Britain, and the visit lasted five days.
Through her, Lewis stated, “Investing in educating children in temporary camps and rebuilding infrastructure in Iraq after the ISIS period is very necessary to improve the lives of persecuted minorities.”
He also stressed that the Chaldeans and Yazidis, in addition to many Iraqis, faced great persecution during ISIS's takeover of their areas.
"While conditions on the ground have improved dramatically since the defeat of ISIS, many continue to worry about the safety of the community and recognize that there is much healing and rebuilding needed," Lewis said in a statement issued on Friday.
“The Windsor-Essex area is home to a large Chaldean community in Canada, many of whom still have friends and family in Iraq who suffered persecution and discrimination at the hands of ISIS. ISIS forces, which has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United Nations, were expelled from most of Iraq in 2017.”
A large group of Chaldean Catholics immigrated to Western countries and other regions of the Middle East after religious and ethnic persecution. Most of the Yazidi people remaining in Iraq live in the regions of Nineveh and Dohuk. About 5,000 Yazidi civilians were killed by ISIS during a forced conversion campaign.
In the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, the delegation met with Iraqi government and religious leaders, including the President of the Iraqi Republic, Dr. Abdul Latif Rashid. and Nouri al-Maliki. And the Minister of Immigration and Displacement, the Minister of Agriculture and His Excellency the Minister of Labor. A dinner invitation was held for the delegation by His Eminence Ammar Al-Hakim. Some members of the delegation met with Sheikh Rayan al-Kaldani.
The delegation then moved to the Kurdistan region in northern Iraq, where it met senior members of the Kurdistan Regional Government, as well as Chaldean political and religious leaders.
The visiting delegation affirmed their “firm belief that the culture of rights and minorities should always be protected,” according to the statement. The statement added, "The delegation's encouragement by officials who responded to their message, and the assurance of both governments that human rights are a priority and will be protected, made the delegation feel reassured."
In the Kurdistan region, the delegation visited the Minister of Transport and Communications, who also held the position of Minister of Education and His Excellency the Minister of Foreign Relations, as well as the Shamsko camp, which mainly includes Yazidis and displaced minorities. "We learned that many problems are facing the camp and its residents, including lack of medical services, poor infrastructure, unsafe housing conditions, as well as exposure to homicide, sexual and domestic violence," said Member of Parliament Mr. Lewis.
"The international community has an important role to play in supporting people in such poor living conditions," Lewis added.
The delegation visited the village of Batnaya, north of Mosul Governorate, and was briefed on the extent of the devastation that befell most of the village's homes, the displacement of its residents and their flight to neighboring villages, and the state of great delay in reconstruction that prompted the population to not return in a significant and noticeable manner.
Among the most important matters that the delegation addressed in its meetings in addition to human rights is the possibility of establishing commercial and cultural exchange in addition to the academic exchange. The Canadian member of parliament promised the importance of strengthening Iraqi-Canadian relations as well as Canadian-Kurdish relations, and promised the possibility of providing great opportunities for the two countries through investment and study.
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