Bishop Parikian and Mr. Der Ghazarian participate at a roundtable Hosted by ministers Christian Paradis and Chris Alexander

Bishop Parikian and Mr. Der Ghazarian participate at a roundtable Hosted by ministers Christian Paradis and Chris Alexander –

On the morning of January 7, 2015, His Grace Bishop Meghrig Parikian, Prelate, and Mr. Krikor Der Ghazarian, Chairperson of the Prelacy Executive Council, participated at a roundtable discussion regarding the persecution of religious minorities in Syria and Iraq at the regional offices of the Religious Freedoms, in Toronto, Ontario.

 Minister for International Development and La Francophonie, the Honourable Christian Paradis and the Minister for Citizenship and Immigration, the Honourable Chris Alexander, hosted the roundtable. The Ambassador for Religious Freedom, Dr. Andrew Bennett, facilitated the meeting.

 Ambassador Bennett conveyed the welcome and introductions and Ministers Paradis and Alexander delivered the opening remarks. Discussions by the participants took place on the following topics:

A. Support for persecuted religious minorities – the role of faith communities

B. Education, post-conflict development and peace building

C. Countering violent extremism

D. Political reconciliation and long-term stability

 The topics of the discussion focused on the challenges faced by religious minorities to the crisis in Iraq and Syria, and the short-term (humanitarian assistance) and long-term development programming solutions.