The #WeAreN2016 Congress testified about the persecution against Christians at a United Nations event held on April 28 in New York. The panel was comprised of experts and eyewitnesses of the violence perpetrated against Christians in middle-eastern and African countries of Iraq, Syria, Nigeria, which are besieged by Islamic State and other militant organizations.
The 'N', or ? in Arabic, is a symbol that stands for Nazarene or Christian, which ISIS drew on the doorways of believers, to identify them in cities that have been captured.
The panel was organized and co-sponsored by CitizensGo, Mas Libres, Defense of Christians, and is supported by many religious leaders including Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN.
The event discussed the violence against and mass exodus of Christians and minorities in the terror-stricken areas of Middle East, apart from the treatment of believers in countries such as Pakistan, where the Christians are in minority.
The website of the congress states that "Christians account for 80% of persecuted minorities. They are victims of the deliberate infliction of conditions of life that are calculated to bring about their physical destruction in whole or in part."
"They are being murdered, beheaded, crucified, beaten, extorted, abducted, and tortured. They have been victims of summary executions," it continues.
The panel demanded that the international community take action to stop the atrocities and work to bring relief to the victims.
"We have a unique opportunity to change things for the better," said Carl Anderson, head of the Knights of Columbus. "Never before has the world's attention been so focused on the suffering of these minorities. Never has their plight been so high on the agenda of the world's governments, the vast majority of the world's Muslims, and all people of good will."
The UN event, which lasted three days from April 28 to 30, featured many panels, including one on sexual violence inflicted on Christian and Yazidi women.
"Women and girls in particular have been subjected to forms of sexual violence such as rape, and have been victims of forced marriages and human trafficking. Children have been transferred to other groups and forcibly recruited. Christian churches and religious and cultural sites have been vandalized. Christian towns, villages, and districts have been devastated," #WeAreN2016 said.
Last week, the House of Commons in UK voted unanimously (278-0) to pronounce IS atrocities as genocide against Christians and other minorities.
In March, the US Secretary of State John Kerry also called the extremist group's activities "genocidal".
The Islamic State is a militant organization that wants to form its caliphate (Daesh) in the Middle East, and still retains large territories in Syria and Iraq, despite significant losses during the past few months. Boko Haram (which means 'western education is sin'), is active in western African countries of Nigeria, Chad, and Cameroon, and has also pledged allegiance to ISIS.
