إثر اللقاء الذي تمّ في العطشانة، رفع قداسة سيّدنا البطريرك مار إغناطيوس أفرام الثاني كتاباً إلى الأمين العام للأمم المتحدة السيّد بان كي مون يطالب فيه الأمم المتّحدة بالعمل من أجل ضمانة أمن وحقوق المسيحيين في الموصل. وفي الرسالة، عرض قداسته الأحداث الأخيرة التي طالت الموصل من تهجير وانتهاك لحقوق الإنسان وتدمير كنائس وكافة التعديات الحاصلة على الأقليات في الموصل.
 

وطالب قداسته بلقاء عاجل مع الأمين العام للأمم المتحدة للتداول بشكل مباشر في هذه الأمور وإيجاد الحلول المناسبة التي تساعد شعبنا على البقاء في أرضه والتشبث بها.

وفيما يلي ننشر الكتاب الذي رفعه قداسته للأمين العام للأمم المتّحدة باللغة الإنكليزية:

His Excellency Mr. Ban Ki Moon
United Nations Secretary-General
UN Headquarters
First Avenue at 46th Street
New York, NY 10017 - USA

Dear Secretary-General,
I am writing concerning the current situation in Iraq and the Middle East, especially the incidences that have been taking place since Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) took control of a dear region of Iraq which is the cradle of humanity and the birthplace of our civilization.

First of all, I would like to thank your excellency and the members of the Security Council for the press statement, issued on 20 July by the office of the Secretary General, and 21 July 2014 by the Security Council President, condemning in the strongest terms the systematic persecution of minority populations in Iraq by Islamic State (IS) and associated armed groups.

Today, we are deeply concerned by the rapidly deteriorating situation in Iraq and Syria, the rise of extremist religious ideologies and the tragic consequences that religious minorities have been facing.

ISIS systematically forced Christians, Shia, Shabaks, Turkmen, Yazidis and other religious minorities out of the city of Mosul, labelling them with racist signs and symbols, humiliating and luting them. The last Christians have left Mosul after ISIS gave them a choice between conversion to Islam, ruinous taxation, exile, or death. Many have since fled their homes, and for the first time since nearly 2,000 years there is no longer a Christian population in Mosul, the city that used to be the largest Christian city in Iraq and was considered the nucleus of Christian presence for many centuries.

The widespread violence and aggression against Christians and minority groups in both Iraq and Syria is intensifying; ISIS is threatening similar Christian and Muslim communities in different parts of Syria, especially in the east and north-east of Syria, yet the response to this threat by the international community has been totally inadequate and unacceptable. The systematic persecution and the loss of thousands of civilian lives and the crimes against humanity that have been committed by ISIS and associated armed groups can no longer be met with just verbal statements and with divided positions from the international community. We believe these acts require punishment, and we call on the international community to stand together against those who continue to supply weapons and finance ISIS and similar organizations.

Having full confidence in the work of the United Nations for the respect, protection and promotion of human rights , and promotion of peace and justice around the world, we urge you, your Excellency, to ensure that the United Nations fulfills its responsibility in protecting the lives and dignity of the persecuted and displaced minorities in Iraq and other parts of the regions where extremist religious groups inflict daily horror on peaceful population, and to intensify its efforts, in cooperation with the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government, to address the urgent humanitarian needs of the displaced communities.

We will be happy to meet with Your Excellency at the time and place of your choice to personally carry to you our concerns.
Wishing you all the success in your mission, we assure you that we are keeping you in our prayers, and we remain,

Scincerely yours,

Ignatius Aphrem II
Patriarch of Antioch and All the East
Supreme Head of the Universal Syrian Orthodox Church