On the Tenth Yearly Commemoration of the Abduction of the Archbishops of Aleppo
MECC in a Seminar and Commemoration
The issue of the Abducted and Forcibly Absented, a Violation of Human Dignity
His Beatitude Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian:
We Call on the Competent Local and International Parties to Search and Reveal the Unknown Fate of the Archbishops
Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs Declares
April 22 of Each Year as the Ecumenical Day of the Abducted and the Forcibly Absented
On the tenth yearly commemoration of the abduction of the Archbishops of Aleppo, His Eminence Archbishop Boulos Yaziji and His Eminence Archbishop Mor Gregorius Youhanna Ibrahim, and based on the decision of the Executive Committee, the Middle East Council of Churches held, on Monday 24 April 2023 a seminar entitled
The Issue of the Abducted and Forcibly Absented
Violation of Human Dignity
Under the patronage and in the presence of His Beatitude Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian, Catholicos of the Armenian Catholic Church of Cilicia, and MECC President for the Catholic Family, and under the patronage of His Beatitude Patriarch John X, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, and MECC President for the Orthodox Family, and His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East and Supreme Head of the Universal Syriac Orthodox Church, and MECC Honorary President. The seminar was also in the presence of His Eminence Metropolitan Silouan Moussi, Greek Orthodox Bishop of Byblos, Batroun and Dependencies (Mount Lebanon), and online participation of His Eminence Mor Clemis Daniel Kourieh, Syriac Orthodox Archbishop of Beirut.
Following the opening note delivered by Dr. Laure Abi Khalil, Coordinator of the Seminars at MECC, and after the Lebanese National Anthem, the seminar began with the speech of His Beatitude Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian, in which he said, "What hurts more is that there are some officials who know the truth and hide it, hide criminal facts and speak loud about amnesty and justice... Here we are, today, we meet again in memory of our lost loved ones with heartbreak and deep sadness. We call on the competent local and international parties to search and reveal the unknown fate of the Archbishops.
His Beatitude added, "My call today is directed to the international consciences that have accustomed since long time to witness crimes and remain idly and silent. My call today goes far beyond the recent past. A hundred and more than eight years ago, more than a million and a half million Armenians were massacred, for the sake of their faith. Since that day, and the international conscience in silence, did not act, did not condemn anyone, nor did they work to achieve justice to anyone.”
His Beatitude continued, “No matter the difficulties and hardships that surrounds our souls until death, nothing will remain. Jesus, our Savior and Redeemer, through His Glorious Resurrection, gave us hope... I would like to conclude this supplication with hope, recalling what came in the Epistle to the Hebrews: Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”
Afterwards, His Eminence Mor Clemis Daniel Kourieh, Syriac Orthodox Archbishop of Beirut, read the joint statement issued by the Greek Orthodox and Syriac Orthodox Patriarchates of Antioch and all the East. Then His Beatitude Patriarch Michel Sabbah, the former Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, delivered a brief speech on the issue of the abducted and forcibly absented.
The MECC Secretary General, Dr. Michel Abs, concluded the first part of the seminar with a speech he delivered, under the title "Behind the Veil of Hatred". He said, "During the battles, whoever took prisoners cannot deny their presence, in light of international treaties. As for the people who took "prisoners" outside the battlefield, through abduction, luring, or intrigues, what will be the way to hold them accountable? Poor are the missing, abducted and forcibly absented people or due to other methods. Every political or social party blames others, and washes its hands as Pontius Pilates did, so that their families and loved ones do not reach a conclusion...".
He continued, "We, in the Middle East Council of Churches, and based on our Christian faith, reject any practice of this kind, regardless of its causes or reasons. It is, firstly, a dehumanization of a person, and secondly, an assault to the human dignity, and thirdly, an assault to the entire human race. Far from the international laws and covenants, our reference is the human being with his/ her values and social value which are not expressed by words, nor are they limited by texts, neither legal nor scientific texts, but by the practices of love on which our Christian and, of course, human faith is built.”
He added, "This is the ninth seminar of human dignity, in which we turned, with the blessing and guidance of the MECC Leaders, the memory of the abduction of the two Archbishops of Aleppo into a memory in which we include everyone who was abducted or forcibly absented. We held it on the 24th of April, on the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, which also coincided with the massacres of major human groups, including Syriacs, Romans, Kurds, Alawites and Yazidis, in Anatolia and the North of the Antiochian Levant.”
The seminar included four parts, the first one focused on testimonies and struggle, the second on a conceptual and legal approach, and the third on the rights of the missing in light of transitional justice. During the fourth part, the statement of the Middle East Council of Churches on the seminar’s issue was read. The seminar also included videos presenting testimonies about the topic at hand.
In the first part of the seminar, Mrs. Rabab al-Sadr, Chairperson of the Imam Sadr Foundation, spoke about the subject of "Imam Musa al-Sadr's opinion", based on her experience with her brother, Imam Musa al-Sadr, may God return him with all those who were forcibly disappeared, to their families and their homeland safely and securely. She also mentioned what is required in light of this absence, forced disappearance, and suffering. Then Mr. Issam Aruri, from Palestine, General Director of the Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Center, spoke about “absence and withholding of bodies: a compound crime – an experience from Palestine”. He condemned this crime and highlighted its facts in Palestine.
In the second part of the seminar, Dr. Khalil Khairallah, Law Professor at the Lebanese University, spoke about the human rights protection of the abducted and forcibly absented, highlighting, with a scientific and legal view, the rights of these victims and ways to preserve their dignity. Then, Dr. George Jabbour, Honorary President of the Syrian Association of the United Nations, delivered a speech on the topic “The Issue of the Missing and Forcibly absented: Ethical, Political and Legal Problems”, in which he talked about the obstacles that prevent any progress in the course of this issue.
In the third segment, Brigadier Abbas Ibrahim participated via video in which he talked about the seminar’s topic, and about his experiences with the issue of the abducted and forcibly absented. Then, Professor Jihad Al-Batch, Former Vice President of Al-Quds Open University, made a speech in which he highlighted his experience in the occupation prisons, focusing on human rights violations and condemning the decision of not releasing the bodies of the prisoners and even the theft of their organs. Afterwards, Dr. Mahmoud Ezzo, a professor at the University of Mosul in the College of Political Science, delivered a speech about "Iraqi legislation and the issue of the missing", in which he spoke about the issue of the missing in Iraq and the work of the Iraqi authorities in this matter.
In the fourth part of the seminar, the MECC Secretary General, Dr. Michel Abs, declared that April 22 of each year will be the Ecumenical Day for the Abducted and Forcibly Absented. As well as, he mentioned that this issue will also become part of the Council's work in the field of sensitization and awareness on the matter of abduction and enforced disappearance, through programs that include seminars, lectures, workshops and research in the various countries of the Middle East in which MECC is present.
