The KRG Coordinator and UK Prime Minister's Representative for Freedom of Religious Beliefs met in London

Erbil, Kurdistan Region (GOV.KRD) - KRG Coordinator for International Advocacy, Dr.Dindar Zebari and the UK Prime Minister's Representative for Freedom of Religious Beliefs, Fiona Bruce met on the sidelines of the International Conference of Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) in London.

The KRG Coordinator asserted that KRG has strived to promote and materialize peaceful coexistence through genuine incorporation of the religious and ethnic groups in the governmental institutions, invariably recognizing rituals and ceremonies of KR-I communities, and cooperating with international agencies to rescue and protect minorities from terrorism. Hence, recognitions and acknowledgements from our international counterparts will indeed be assistive in further improvements in religious freedoms in the Kurdistan Region.

In another part of the discussion, Dr. Zebari stated that he directorates within the Ministry of Endowment are managed by the religious components themselves. The Secretary of Parliament, the state minister for Components Affairs, the Head of the Independent High Commission of Human Rights, and the Minister of Communication, are from the religious minorities.

Furthermore, the KRG Coordinator for International Advocacy and the UK Prime Minister's Representative for Freedom of Religious Beliefs alluded to importance of the US State Department’s Report on International Religious Freedoms in evaluating the status of freedom of beliefs. The KRG Coordinator explained that his office has a fixed mechanism with the US Consulate General in Erbil, UN agencies, and other consular offices to transmit official information prior to the release of the reports – a mechanism which applies to as well.  

Ms. Fiona Bruce praised KRG’s exceptional performance in the matter of religious freedoms and stressed that this success has to be addressed in international platforms.