The Iraqi Christian Relief Council (ICRC) is an Assyrian-based Christian

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

founded in 2007 by Assyrian activist

Juliana Taimoorazy Juliana Taimoorazy ( syr, ܓ̰ܘܠܝܢܐ ܬܡܪ̈ܙܐ; born 1973) is an Assyrian people, Assyrian Assyrian Americans, American activist from Assyrians in Iran, Iran. She is the founder and current president of the Iraqi Christian Relief Council, ...

. The ICRC describes its primary purpose as being to advance the humanitarian and political protection of persecuted Assyrian Christians who live in post-war Iraq, whose population has dwindled from 1,500,000 in 2003 to about 150,000 just 17 years later in 2020 due to ongoing persecution and instability in their homeland.

History and activities

Founding and early history

The Iraqi Christian Relief Council was founded in 2007 by

. Taimoorazy started the organization in response to ongoing Assyrian persecution in their homeland of

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

. According to Taimoorazy, the ICRC did not initially receive very much attention from American officials until the 2014 ISIS invasion of the Assyrian homeland. Since then, it has raised awareness through political advocacy, humanitarian support, and hosting public events, such as candlelight vigils.

Humanitarian activities

The ICRC predominantly provides humanitarian aid to Assyrians in Iraq. The majority of the aid goes through the Assyrian Aid Society and Dominican Sisters of Saint Catherine of Siena in Northern Iraq. The ICRC also provides humanitarian assistance to Assyrian refugees from Iraq in other countries in the Middle East, including Syria,

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

. In the year 2016, the ICRC provided humanitarian aid to 95,000 Assyrian Christians in Iraq. The ICRC launched Operation Return to Nineveh in 2016. The project has allowed for the rebuilding of community centers, schools, homes, and churches destroyed by ISIS in predominantly Assyrian-Christian areas of Iraq. It has also further encouraged the establishment of Nineveh Plain Province to act as a safe haven for Assyrians in Iraq.

Assyrian Political advocacy

Taimoorazy has also met with Iraqi parliamentarians on behalf of ICRC to discuss the creation of a Christian province in Iraq. In August 2019, the ICRC and 15 other Assyrian organizations released a coalition letter thanking Representative Josh Harder for the creation of House Resolution 537, which would have the United States officially recognize the

Assyrian genocide The Sayfo or the Seyfo (; see below), also known as the Assyrian genocide, was the mass slaughter and deportation of Assyrian / Syriac Christians in southeastern Anatolia and Persia's Azerbaijan province by Ottoman forces and some Kurdish ...

if passed. On behalf of the ICRC's leadership, Taimoorazy criticized the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)

independence referendum An independence referendum is a type of referendum in which the residents of a territory decide whether the territory should become an independent sovereign state. An independence referendum that results in a vote for independence does not alwa ...

for its potential negative impact on the Assyrian population of the region, and criticized the threats of violence issued by the KRG against Assyrians who protested the referendum. The ICRC released an official statement in 2020 condemning the refusal of the government of

to investigate the disappearance of Assyrian couple Hurmiz and Shimoni Diril.

COVID-19 response

In 2020, the ICRC started the ''Save Those Who Save Lives Campaign''. The campaign pledged $5,000 on behalf of ICRC to provide masks to healthcare workers in the United States as a response to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. The ICRC also joined 27 other Non-governmental organizations and signed a letter calling on Iraqi authorities and the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

to implement measures aimed at preventing a humanitarian and security catastrophe in

Sinjar Sinjar ( ar, سنجار, Sinjār; ku, شنگال, translit=Şingal, syr, ܫܝܓܪ, Shingar) is a town in the Sinjar District of the Nineveh Governorate in northern Iraq. It is located about five kilometers south of the Sinjar Mountains. Its p ...

, Tel Afar, and the Nineveh Plain as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website
Assyrian-American organizations Assyrian organizations Humanitarian aid organizations Assyrians in Iraq American Christian political organizations Iraqi Christians Christianity in Iraq Christian missionaries in Iraq Persecution of Christians in Iraq Christianity in Mosul Syriac Christianity