we did ourselves a disservice and were not quick to address the misper exceptioceptiomisper. i think we have to be better in our political communication. we have a real problem in our own hands and don't always manage these issues especially well. it really is a challenge for the future. i think you are absolutely right. we could see an uptick and because of what is happening in the united states we are preoccupied at the moment and will be for a while we will have a serious challenge in dealing with these issues. ...

and also we see the both sides is trying to lower the tension because of the south china sea. considering the g 23 summit will be held in hong kong very soon in which president obama and didn't will participate, how would you expect the relations to evolve after the g 20 summit because china will see the summit as this bigger load in the international arena and secondly, do you expect the us china high-level exchange

mechanism will continue if donald trump is elected? thank you [laughter] >> it's a good question. the first part. [laughter] it's very easy to see that china and the united states have some very difficult issues that we need to manage in the bilateral relationship. issues that it mismanaged could push our relationships in a negative direction rather than a positive direction. certainly the south china sea is one of them area because it involves territorial issues and territorial issues are always sensitive. between sovereign states. but at the same time, our

mechanisms or dialogue with china the best we've ever had. we have frequent, not as frequent as putin and xi jinping but xi jinping and president obama have had frequent meetings and a special characteristic of it which even putin i don't think has is they will spend hours together in discussion so that you can get beneath the service of issues and not simply run through your talking points and this is reflected in what's going on now. i think in part in preparation for the g 20 meeting in home show, the national security advisor has gone to china, not for the first time. she knows the people she's dealing with in china effectively, we just had our chief of naval operations in china and i can't believe

that they did discuss the south china sea and had some exchanges on it.so in other words, the channels of communication between china and the united states are wide open and we are utilizing them and i think this is the most effective way to try to deal with the full range of issues in us china relationships because every time our presidents get together they issue a joint statement talking about 50+ areas of cooperation between the two countries, none of which gets the slightest bit of attention. because all of the focus is on big issues such as the south china sea or the deployment of feds in south korea so my sense is both countries are serious in wanting to manage the relationship in a way that will not let it drift toward a hostile relationship and that's the way it should be. as for the second part of your question, i defer to my colleague. it's the job of the chinese embassy to analyze our

domestic political process. [laughter] >> very cleverly said. i think we are all trying to get into our presidential campaign and i think that overall these broader factors are very important and no matter who is elected president here in the united states in november, these are the choices, these are how the choices are going to be framed by these actual factors and i think just one quick point on the channels, this is a major difference between the relationship of the united states and china and the united states and russia is they simply don't have those channels in the relationship with russia. russia tends to be a bit of a one-man show and it makes it difficult to be a particular one-man show in china given

the sheersize of the body politic , the population and the still very strong presence of the chinese communist party. i guess president xi jinping is much more of a popular figure than some of his predecessors have been and he's been accused on some sides of personalizing the presidency but that pales in comparison to what happens . you can tell he tells with the presidency.they made russian politics so much more about him than it was during the period with dimitri medved and so we have real difficulties in figuring out how to fit to that relationship did that was the power to reset two parts of the obama administration where there were different layers and substances to monies relationship, it wasn't about the two men at the top because given the nature of the russian us

relationships is going to be unlikely that president obama and president clinton will have the same frequency of meetings . there is less to talk about in many respects and lots of difficult issues to talk about. and who wants to be sitting in an environment where we were all we are doing is running? i don't think or obama would enjoy their encounters poor as ambassador boy is saying, there's a little bit more to talk about him getting to different layers between she and obama. this is one challenge we're going to have moving forward. about how you build a broader relationship, how you create new mechanisms and channels for the russian us relationship but i'm also suggesting maybe a comment on that that the china russian relationship didn't always have the deeper layers are either. it was still something of a top-heavy relationship also which is probably why she and putin have to me so frequently. >> agree. yes, young lady. >> thank you.

i'm from western media, we also know last friday the democratic national convention, their internal emails released and made public and some people say this was supported by putin because it was published by the russian hackers so how do you think of this kind of possibility, thank you. >> we've waited so long for your question. [applause] [laughter] >> thanks, we fortunately been spending so much time addressing the rest of the dnc emails i can keep track of my own emails. recently i'm looking forward to my emails being on wikileaks so other people can respond to them finally. we don't know who has hacked the dnc and the strong suspicion is that it's russia because along with china the

russianshave the strongest capabilities of both the united states . of them being able to undertake this kind of operation. even if it does prove and the fbi and others are looking into this now and there's been an awful lot of inquiry into this the first time out, this is not the first news of this hack, this took place several months ago and we've already had one week of information related to the trump campaign at some rather suspicious moments in the election cycle. the timing is not accidental, let's say by wikileaks or by anyone else in releasing the certain caches of information that this is obviously time so this release to the high point of theconvention where senator bernie sanders was going to be appearing . those emails that relate were very much related to the difficulties his campaign experienced. so again, it's not old news, there's been an awful lot of investigative reporting to

find the different groups behind this, there is very strong suspicion that they are directly related to russian intelligence, different parts of russian intelligence but there's no definitive proof of this. the crisis really if it is russian intelligence, why would they want to do this? this gets back to the comment i made before about russia and putin and the woes that we have expressed here being in competition with the united states but the government's question about the revolutions, i have a strong feeling the united states will try to influence domestic politics, period of domestic weakness and i'd be interested in the business of regime change and if you are in the business of intelligence in russia or elsewhere, we are in the business of also counterintelligence. if you believe the united states has been doing this kind of thing that you want

to hit them back with the sign same kind of activity. we've already had the release of tate phone conversations between the us government officials during the ukraine crisis, there was a telephone conversation between the state department official and the us ambassador to the ukraine that was put on youtube and a very sensitive moment in that crisis and that's obviously a great deal of controversy, there were suspicion that this was the russians, it had the russians and all over itself in many respects you shouldn't be surprised. the cause from the russian perspective, again president isn't ashamed of the fact that he was a kgb operative. he takes great pride in russian intelligence. you might remember when the story broke that the russian secret agents, the infamous anna chapman who became something of a media darling back in russia with all the glamorous young women who

were revealed to be a russian spy, he met with them all publicly and there was no shame in the fact that there was a great deal of disappointment i imagine that there had been uncovered so there's no shame in this at all. makes no secret of the fact at any point that he relishes russia's prowess in spying. they have not admitted to this, in fact many suspect it has a great degree of ambiguity because it makes everybody nervous. we are all sitting here wondering about our emails, there's an intimidation factor about all this so why would you show your hand because there's a great deal more practical supplies. this is not to say we have any definitive proof that we shouldn't be surprised if this kind of activity goes on and again, the russians take pride in the first possibility of their intelligenceservices . >> yes, the young lady.

>> my name is megan, i'm a graduate student in the international affairs and my question is about, we hear a lot about the us china or us russia relationships regarding syria and iraq and everything that's going on there china is very absent from that domain so i'm curious as to how you think some sort of attack in china would change that, especially given that the chinese tend to think more long-term than the united states and only russia as well. thank you. >> maybe ambassador? >> the question is, there's a lot of attention to the russian actor in the syria isis problem in the middle east.

china is very concerned about domestic terrorism. they are particularly concerned about terrorism, lace to the weavers and fishing john where are there are some external organizations that claim to be trying to stimulate resistance or separatist forces in the area. clearly if there was a linkage emerged between isis and weaker terrorism in chen-chang, the chinese would treat this as a top priority issue. there is cooperation and intelligence exchange among countries that are concerned about this type of terrorism. and i think china is part of that process. i don't expect that china would become interventionist on those issues because of

its concern over the side of terrorism they would probably step up cooperation with countries that were in a position to uncover intelligence that would be useful to china in dealing with any potential internal threats that were connected to that. but china tends to be critical of intervention in other countries and issues and while china is getting a lot of attention to try to strengthen its ties in the middle east, it is not yet in a position of wanting to actually commit chinese forces to intervening in those areas. >> okay, we will pick up a few questions and especially a question for sun yun in the back, the three gentlemen who raise their hand. >> very much, my name is greg stratton with the national review of recent research, my question is about the one road initiative and the integration with eurasian economics which you mentioned

earlier. it seems that is progressing slowly as professor rodman mentioned. can you talk about some areas of success that has been in this area? whether that's in russia or in other countries in the region. >>. >> greg tillman, arms control association. one aspect of the triangle between the us and russia and china in each of these countries can annihilate the other two countries with nuclear weapons. my question really is given china's slow but steady increase in its nuclear capabilities, which seem to be oriented almost exclusively at defending itself against the us, how does beijing thinkabout the russian nuclear threat ? is it below the surface or is it about as alarming to them as the us worrying about the british expansion of nuclear threats?>> good question.

maybe the gentleman in the back. yes, that's fine. both of you. yes. >> david 70 with csi ask him my question is for all the panelists who laid out a situation where as ambassador voice it in the regular relationship china seem to have the advantage you have a specific recommendation what united states can do to swing advantage for the us, thank you. >> last one, yes . >> my name is lisa wong fun, graduated student in international affas at the university of california and my question is for ambassador roy and what do you think of the phenomenon that american presidential candidates always say about china and russia in their campaigns but they are more practical after elected when dealing with

china and russia, thank you. >> he is quoting donald trump, okay. [laughter] >> the one road initiative you are thinking of, the integration . the program has been progressive slowly and the most we have heard is about the discussions that the two governments and top leaders have had about integration but my suspicion is that some of the projects that the chinese are contemplating with both russia and central asian countries are going to be categorized under the cooperation category or the integration category between the two. that should not be too difficult task to complete. also a short comment on counterterrorism and the question about china's involvement in central asia and the middle east. i think the attacks that have happened in china so far by

weaker population have already motivated chinese government to take a more serious attitude toward the cooperation on counterterrorism and in this region. although there is, this is the problem in that process because i don't want to name which country it is but in the process is not so uncommon that it china has most motivation and most interesting cooperating with the settlements because of counterterrorism, what is the incentive for that government to administer that problem so that the chinese cooperation with regard? we hear the chinese talk about this privately that somegovernments are cooperating with china but they are also not cooperating with china . >> you have a comment on the nuclear issue? >> the nuclear issue, the dialogue is ongoing between not only china and the united

states but also china and other nuclear powers and i don't think any of the chinesepolicies , not clear china's nuclear instruments are targeted at russia so that's not an issue. >> i think that your friend, two things here also. is the talk that china may not have reached us china relationships encounter to the cold war. the us is leveraged to address that question and also ... >> i will briefly comment on this. i agree with this on the nuclear missile issue. there are two ways to defuse that. one is to have a power position which enables you to deal with the threat and one is to simply create a political relationship in which the threat is not a relevant factor and i think that in the case of sino russian relations at the

moment, is simply not concerned about the potential nuclear attack on china and china has a nuclear deterrent in case that judgment proved wrong so this is not a subjective that keeps chinese leaders up at night worried about it. the question was how to deal with the triangular relationship and the united states back into a favored position. the simple answer is question whether or not the united states can manage our relationships with china and russia in such a fashion that the national interest is served by having the united states act in a situation where we have better relations with those two capitals and a half with each other. at the moment that's not an easy task but we ought to be thinking on those terms because again, the manipulative concepts of managing foreign policy has the same detriment that you would have in a social

situation if a friend was considered only interested in manipulating your friendship so they could gain some particular advantage. you do not advance your diplomacy by giving the impression that your sole purpose in having a relationship with an important foreign country is so you can use that country against the mother country. i know a lot of people think those ways and i've read articles that talk about how we should be manipulating china against russia and russia against china etc. it's bad diplomacy. leaders are skilled and diplomats are skilled at figuring out that you are trying to manipulate them as opposed to accomplish something positive. us elections, why do we criticize china during elections and then behave differently after the elections. there's a simple answer. candidates are interested in gettingelected .

and therefore they tend to not think about the consequences of what they are saying . their calculations are willing to assist me to get the most necessary to come into office. the us chinarelationship is based on national interest . and that's why presidents of the democratic and republican persuasions alike after the election campaign is over have tended to come back to a common understanding that a bad relationship with china is not in the us national interest and that we benefit from having a more substantive relationship with china. with that dynamic i think we will discover the terms of the current election campaign in the united states that the candidates choose to criticize china they will discover if they are elected the us national interest requires a relationship with

china that cannot be based on criticism of them or the way they are and the way they behave so i would expect that dynamic to continue to play. >> we only have five minutes left. just a couple of questions, okay. >> lee essen, voice of america. we know that russia and china have expressed their deployment of the sap system. china had said it would fix way that that such a deployment would undermine china's national interest and also destabilize the region. i'm wondering if you think that there is some validity to such an argument with the united states and south korea should take china's position a little more seriously. there could be a trade reaction on china's side that way and i think they might,

you know, they are not same, the opposition might do something about it. >> let me answer that. quickly. life is filled with contradictions. and chairman mao in his wisdom wrote a learned article on the correct management of contradictions. the north korean nuclear and missile development programs have created a potential contradiction which is that it's placed under threat to import us allies in northeast asia, south korea and japan area at the same time, the most effective countermeasures against the missile threats has the potential to degrade the nuclear deterrent of both china and russia. so how do you deal with that? the answer is if you don't deploy mac, you will essentially be increasing the risk for allies because of concerns about the

degradation of the deterrent of countries that you want to get along with. i think the way the united states has handled that issue in close consultation with south korea which has clearly demonstrated they want a decent relationship with china is to make the deployment because the threat from north korea is greater then the potential degradation of the deterrent that china and russia have against the united states . that is clearly not the outcome that either beijing or moscow would have preferred. but they are very aware of the fact that this was not simply a unilateral action or a bilateral action and the united states and its allies south korea in that china and

russia. it was a measure aimed at north korea the cause of the inability of the international community including those particular parties to be able to deter and halt and rollback the very, very dangerous nuclear and missile development of north korea. this is an issue which is very troublesome but is manageable because it represents the contradiction and i think all parties understand that it is not simply a unilateral action erected against them primarily. >> we are coming to the end after this program. i've learned a great deal in particular from my colleagues who really have been sharing your insights and analysis and particularly i want to go back to your point about the diplomacy and bad diplomacy

and also we look at the china's perspective as ever-changing in attitudes against the united states towards russia.i think it reminds us that we should be wise. we should be foresighted and also we should avoid some countries who think they do not have a choice but to have conversational policy on foreign alliance against us interests. also particularly here my colleagues, when last time you back you said he had emails having to look in here . so again, thank you. it is very useful to come here with that insight. this has really caused some interesting debate. i assume that democrats affect invention hoping it will wash off. i'm hoping the trunk trump

people should watch c-span. and so i will end with that and thank you, i want the audience to join me in thanks to all the excellent conversation. [applause] >>. [inaudible conversation]

>> donald trump and hillary clinton made the republican democratic national convention a must see on tv and this weekend we show you many of the most talked about speeches from cleveland and philadelphia saturday night starting at eastern you will see democratic speeches by michelle obama, bernie sanders, bill clinton, joe biden, michael bloomberg, tim kane, chelsea clinton and the acceptance by hillary clinton and sunday morning at 1030 eastern you will see republican speeches by rudy giuliani, donald and melanie at trump, tiffany trump, donald trump junior, chris christie, ted cruz, eric trump, mike pence, peter fields, evocative and the acceptance by the truck. that's this saturday evening at eastern and saturday morning at 10 eastern on c-span, the c-span radio app and c-span.org. book tv on c-span two, 48

hours of nonfiction books and authors every weekend. here are featured programs this weekend. on saturday at noon eastern, the 18th annual harlem book fair. the largest african-american book fair and the nation's premier black literary event. every year at the schaumburg center in harlem. our coverage includes black writers in the state of literature, diversity in book publishing, a panel discussion about author zora neal hurston and author eddie glossed discussing his book democracy in black: how race still enslaves the american soul. at 10 pm eastern saturday, afterwards. eric fair, author of consequence, amend more talked about his experience as an interrogatorat the at rave prison in iraq. he is interviewed by iran wolof, director of national security advocacy for human rights first . >> there was a great deal of nudity and it was december and it shows a number of men

chained to their cell doors with their hands between their legs which was essentially forced pending which was an enhanced technique and donald rumsfeld eventually at some point said he stands at his desk all day, why can't they? i can tell you seeing someone in a fourth inning position has nothing to do but standing at a desk, it was torture. >> on sunday night at 10 pm eastern, fdr and churchill's strained relationship during world war ii is the subject of nigel hamilton book, commander-in-chief. it examines the military and tactical frustrations between president franklin d roosevelt and british prime minister winston churchill. go to booktv.org for the complete weekend schedule.

>> georgetown university's religious freedom project host an all day discussion yesterday on the threat of isis toward religious and ethnic minorities. alice included state department officials, heads of humanitarian and charitable organizations and religious leaders. they share their experiences on the ground and discuss the steps needed to ensure tolerance in the region. >> ... good morning ladies and gentlemen. welcome to the campus of georgetown university. thank you for joining us with this important conference on one of the important issues of our day, the continuing threats to religious and ethnic minorities under the so-called islamic state. i'm tom farr, director of the berkeley center's religious freedom georgetown. we are delighted to be hosting this event. with the support of our colleagues at the office of international religious freedom at the us department of state.

as you can see from your programs, we have a full day long agenda. and i think i can promise you a vigorous and stimulating discussion of one of the most profound issues of our day. one with the humanitarian implications for the victims of isis genocide as well as strategic implications for the west. and the united states. before we begin, if i might i want to say a word about religious freedom project here at georgetown. the rfp as we call it was created at the berkeley center in 2011 and then in 2014 we welcomed a new strategic partner in the baylor university's institute for studies of religion under professor byron johnson. the rfp is the only university-based center with the study of religious freedom in the world. our goal is to research and to disseminate knowledge about religious freedom. what it is, and why it's

important for every person, religious or not. for every religious community, every society and every state. indeed, we believe religious freedom is important for internationaljustice , stability and peace. we define religious freedom in a broad and capacious way. it's the right of every person to believe and worship or not and if one is a religious believer to act on the basis of belief in the public life of one's nation. both as an individual and as a member of a religious community. religious freedom is as we understand it therefore not merely a private right to worship. it entails the right to engage in civil society, business, politics on the

basis of one's religious beliefs. religious liberty is not a mere claim of privilege by religiouspeople. rather, it is a pillar of stable democracy , economic development and societal flourishing. and particularly germane to our conference today, the evidence is clear. the absence of religious freedom contributes vividly to the rise and sustaining of violent religious extremism and terrorism. but the presence of religious freedom undermine religious extremism and terrorism. unfortunately, notwithstanding its importance, religious freedom is in global crisis. according to reports by a few research center three quarters of the world population lives in countries where religious freedom virtually is nonexistent. that's three out of four human beings on the planet. outside the west as today's conference will test those restrictions are often characterized by vile and violent persecution of religious minorities.

inside the west, while violent persecution is not the norm and please god never will be, the pew reports show that government restrictions on social hostility toward religion are on the rise. including in the united states of america. our goal here at the religious freedom project is to raise the profile of this issue both here and abroad. we want to change the conversation among the people who can do something about this crisis but who we believe are not paying sufficient attention to that is, government officials ,the media , the academy and civil society in general.you are work routines of international scholars, books and articles, workshops, consultations with governments, congressional testimony, media appearances, conferences such as this one here and abroad and a vigorous web presence including social media and in

all of these activities we seek to engage not only religious believers but secular society in general and in particular the skeptics of religion. in a very real sense hours is an attempt to conduct a conversation about religious freedom with everyone, especially those who do not share our premises or our views. finally, let me mention briefly the creation of a new religious freedom initiative called the religious freedom institute. the first thing to be said is that georgetown's rfp will continue at the berkeley center. i hear it's currently to ship that is, professor kenny shaw, professor byron johnson and myself. but three of us are also launching this year a new and independent initiative, the religious freedom institute. we will be joined next month by kent hill whom you will hear later this afternoon it is currently senior vice president of international

programs at world vision . he will soon depart that position and become the executive director for the religious freedom institute. if you would like further information please see me or go to our

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[applause] welcome everyone to the opening of our two day series of meetings focusing on rights to relieve

religious and ethnic minorities under daesh. i want to thank doctor tom free at georgetown university for cosponsoring this event today. i also want to thank our partners the us holocaust memorial museum and us peace for their support over the next two days. religious and ethnic minorities in the region have suffered human rights violations, discrimination and violence for years. with the emergence of daesh introduced the world to a new level of brutality. in response we are here out of a shared concern about the future of religious diversity and pluralism in iraq and syria. we stand together in our joint combination of atrocities brain daesh has committed against religious and ethnic minorities as well as against the atrocities committed against the majority communities and the broader population in these countries. we stand together in assisting that human rights and religious freedoms for all groups be respected and our meeting today out of a

shared desire to find ways to do more, to take action, to ensure that your back and serious historic religious and ethnic pluralism remains. to see that the rights of these individuals both men and women are respected as equal citizens and had a hand in determining the future of their own communities. in march, secretary kerry made the historic announcement that is in his judgment daesh is committing genocide against shia muslims in the territory controlled. he recognized the extreme suffering of these groups as well as atrocities committed against the kurds area i want to thank and overhear you here today played an important role and valuable role in providing information that helped us come to that decision. secretaries carries statement must more than words it was a call to action. a call to action to find ways help these communities and in a statement built upon the words and actions of president obama that we saw

the presidents commitment to religious diversity and protecting the rights of minorities when he authorized the airstrikes two years ago to recognize troops on mount sinjar as well as when the white house last year committed after meeting with pope francis to hold a meeting like this focusing on ways to protect religious and ethnic minorities so we are convening these meetings today and tomorrow at the state department as a concrete expression of concern about the future of religious and ethnic minorities in iraq and syria. the time is right. as with each passing day we are closing to see the liberation of emotional and the surrounding plane so we take these actions out of recognition that more must be done to give minorities confidence that they have a future in their ancestral homeland so we have brought together civil society, religious leaders, activists, communities and diplomats to discuss just that have in the international community more effectively meet this existential challenge for minorities? in short, we want to understand the needs, identify the gaps and provide

concrete responses. tomorrow, more than 25 different countries will be at the state department, many at the head of department level. delegations will participate from north america across europe and the arab world as well as include representatives of the european union and united nations offices. deputy secretary of state anthony lincoln will give opening remarks and be followed by terry wolf, deputy presidential envoy to the global coalition to counter isil but before these delegations meet tomorrow we wanted to hear from impacted communities and ngos to understand their concerns about the future of religious diversity in iraq and syria d the threat of daesh violence. we want to be informed by your voices, voices from the region before our diplomatic meeting tomorrow so we worked with georgetown to have an entire day dedicated to hearing your ideas for meeting these challenges and as a result, many members of

the diplomatic corps are with us this morning as well as the diverse iraqi delegation which is a feeling of strong international concern and i want to thank you religious freedom producfor their partnership in developing the speaker list today. having heard from our ngo friends i know there are many additional voices we could have included but we are limited due to time and we packed the agenda. i think the panel resents many distinct weeks of you, sometimes in conflict that will spur discussion and help generate new ideas or ways to respond. i also want to note that our effort is in partnership with france as a continuation of the french initiative begun last year by foreign minister lawrence patio. he convened the security council in march 2015 to shine a light on daesh abuses and to follow-up last september, france cosponsored with jordan a meeting in paris. united states participated in both those meetings. the paris meeting resulted in the document called the paris

action plan which highlighted steps governments can take to aid religious minorities targeted by daesh and other terrorist organizations. the united states use the paris action plan as a roadmap to action. we've also welcomed other efforts such as the conference organized by greece and athens last year as well as in morocco which led to the issuance of the marrakesh declaration regarding the rights of religious minorities in muslim content.i want to stress we aredeeply, deeply concerned about all who have suffered under daesh's reign of terror. iraqi and syrian muslims have bravely stood up to daesh's work ideology of murder . shia muslims have been executed simply because they are shia. if you stand for the principle that one lifeis not more valuable than another , even while we recognize the unique and existential threat facing religious and ethnic minorities. the paris action plans that will quote, the beyond the solidarity that must benefit all victims of conflict and violence there is a pressing necessity for protecting service communities and

cultures whose existence is threatened in iraq and syria. the purpose of these meetings today and tomorrow ito examine actions taken in light of the roadmaps of the paris action plan to discuss next steps meeting the specific needs of religious minorities facing potential extinction from their homeland. we want to build momentum toward the conference that spain has committed to hold later this year or in early 2017. it will be like a pledging conference where countries can announce newinitiatives or training or programmatic funding . but i want to be very clear. the protection of religious and ethnic minorities in iraq and syria is a foreign policy priorityof the united states. we are constantly discussing internally what more united states government can do . toward the end we are taking our actions right now. for example, we are partnering with the smithsonian institution to launch a new program next week that will assist

minority communities in northern iraq with our cultural heritage preservation needs. we are developing materials to help train the customer and identifying magistrates and virtual heralded sites so they can be prepared for whatever role they play in the liberation of mosul. we are losing satellite telemetry to identify potential mass graves behind daesh frontlines so that intervening forces can identify and protect those important sites. and these programs to log many years of state department programmatic work and has provided direct assistance to religious and ethnic minorities in iraq. the states could not be higher for these communities. a multitude of fakes, many that have existed for millennia or more call iraq and syria home and face the real possibility of disappearing from these areas since 2003 the push of extremist violence before and now has resulted in the exodus of over 1 million christians and tens of thousands of communities from

iraq. we seem to recommend, shock, kind of a small groups also suffer. the minority religious communities in syria are also under extreme pressure as repeated attacks in chemistry and the kidnapped syrian bishops reminded us. at the department's first special advisor for religious minorities in the near east and southeast asia i've been working with my colleagues in washington and around the world to address the challenges facing minorities in the region. the united states is doing a lot. themaster staff sergeant will give a description of our actions but we cannot , we must not do it alone. why? because the challenges facing us stretched beyond the capabilities of any one government or organization and they are an affront to the values that undercut our societies and force, time is working against us. during my trip to iraq earlier this year i saw the vibrancy in which leftist minority communities but also

that they live a precarious and fragile existence and i visited the christian, i'll on the plains about 30 miles north of mosul and that was the syrian christian town of kate which is occupied by daesh. we heard about how these guys first community may never return. we also visited lawless, holy center of the sea and met with their leaders about ac. we heard how hundreds are leaving every week to seek safety and better opportunities in europe and other regions. but we also heard how individuals from both communities would prefer to stay in iraq if they can do so in safety and with hope for a better future. so from these business i came away with a stark sense that we are at a pivotal moment in history that the door on these communities could close forever. however, the door is not shut yet and through concerted efforts we can pushthe door back open . we must act and we need to act for our friends and allies.

in closing, the fight against daesh has been difficult and it's not over. next year will be decisive . yet the negroes closer when mosul will be liberated. there is a light at the end of this nightmarish tunnel due to the good work of iraqi forces and the counter isil coalition but once daesh is expelled the international community must share the difficult fight, the difficult work of waging war to the equallychallenging task of winning the peace . to win the peace we need to see reconstruction across the board in our communal reconciliation, respected rights, transitional justice and more. the international community on our side, we need to plan these communities with these challenges but we also need minority communities to coalesce around a common vision of their future. as i'm sure you will hear today there are different views on the best way forward to preserve the presence of these ancient communities.

this agreement is natural and can be constructive if it leads to better ideas and more focused effort. however, if this agreement becomes efficient, fraction communities this will prove costly. those who post pluralism and make it more difficult for the international community to assist the 20th century witnessed mass movements of people with millions fleeing extreme violence targeted against them due to the religious or ethnic identity. the question for us all is whether we can reverse this trend in the still new 21st-century. can conditions be created to give minorities confidence in the future? iraq and syria will be a great test of that question but the best way to defeat daesh and its ideology of hate is by protecting what they tried to exterminate, religious and ethnic pluralism area to hopefully from this discussion today and tomorrow we will take a step forward on a new path that respects human rights,

equal citizenship, religious freedom and religious tolerance and very much. [applause] >> at this point will the first, when we will get started with our first. >>. >> ... thank you very much. can everyone hear me? i'd like to thank the berkeley center and the state department forhosting today's discussion .

it's a real honor to be here. it's also deeply humbling and i have to say also very disappointing that we are here. if it means that we have failed to prevent genocide crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing against religious minorities in iraq and syria. it also means we failed to protect those communities adequately as the crimes have been unfolding and it moves in many ways we are failing today to a system as we struggle to find ways to protect the communities in what has been now twoyears of exile . we have a really remarkable set of speakers today, people who i've actually met on trips to northern iraq who have to carry the very difficult burden of seeking on behalf of their communities to give voice to their experiences but also who served them to take care of their spiritual needs, their emotional needs but also their physical needs and into the parlor to be to hear directly from you in a case. i want to introduce each of

the speakers. bishop mark although layout is a bishop of the syrian church of the east presiding over the diocese of california. he's a secretary of the holy korean church of the and is one of five trustees of the appearing church of the east relief organization. is the president of the commission on interchurch relations and educational development. he's also the author of mysteries of the kingdom, sacrament to the syrian church of the east with treaties on the theology of the syrian church of east regarding permit. he obtained his fda from what all college chicago and his second ba in sacred theology from the university of st. mary on the lake he later received his license in sacred the aji from the oriental university in wales. freeman to see, the official representative of prince machine site, the leader of the community in iraq.

he has spoken on behalf of of the hasidic community in several conferences brought europe and the middle east addressing human rights, genocide and the refugee crisis. previously bringing work in the iraqi consulate and manchester uk and was a diplomat with the iraqi minister of foreign affairs. he graduated from the english language center in manchester in 2012 and from the diplomatic in baghdad. he also received his ba from the university of studying in the burial. finally, father benham sonata is the founder of the march moni charitable clinic and humanitarian relief organization which serves in internally displacedpeople in the summer in iraqi kurdistan . he is a professor at the college union club. he joined the seminary at st. peter in baghdad in 1997 and was ordained into the priesthood in 2004. in 2012 he was assigned as administrator for the same from every in college for the

syrian catholic diocese in mosul where he served until 2013. he also served as vice vector at the seminary for the catholic patriarch in angola. he earned a phd in philosophy in 2012 from the gregorian university and a masters in philosophy in 2009 from santos chris pontificate university and a thought theology from university located in rome. it's an honor to be able to speak with each of you. for a very quick background, everyone remembers much of the facts but i think we should reiterate them again. even though we are talking about crimes committed by the islamic state currently what we are addressing also is a failure to prevent attacks on minority communities that have taken place over a decade in iraq. between june and august 2014, isis attacked northern iraq,

10 percent of the population of which are were religious and ethnic minorities. in two months, 800,000 people were driven from their homes and genocide crimes against cleansing were committed. two years later these communities remain in exile. and face serious challenges. with that i wanted to start the conversation by asking if each of you would be willing to speak to what some of the specific daily challenges that your communities are facing in terms of their humanitarian needs and their own well-being . perhaps would you like to begin? >> yes, thank you very much for, i want to tell everything exactly what i mean. i sent everything what i mean, yes. [ speaking iraqi] ...

>> i wish to convey to you the deference of the e.g. it community but we are still waiting for the help that they would need to have a place to choose them in this world.>> and we wish that emotions will turn into ideology on the ground as the front takes action. >>. [speaking iraqi] >> all of the small communities, all of the

minorities, donkeys and others are all in the same boat when it comes to the current attacks against their way of living >> >>

translator: to the time of slaves there are 100 women objected to this day. >> [speaking native language] translator: this organization still rapes these women. >> is. [speaking native language] >> translator: without any serious action taken to reduce the suffering of this community. >> [speaking native language]

translator: at the turn of august 2 years ago a major catastrophe be felled them that we remember to this day. >> [speaking native language] in. translator: it wasn't that isil took over to attack the land, took their homes, kill them and forced them into the sea in their still living this tragedy to this day. >> [speaking native language] translator: here is they are living in the refugee camps with then northern kurdistan and other areas. >>

[speaking native language] translator: when you say conditions, they are beyond belief they wait for the moment they can go back to their homes and they're also suffering from the lack of trust from those that are hosting bin in the camp near -- then in the camp. the situation with the rise of isis it throws darkness over the country of iraq. >> [speaking native language]

translator: this issue calls for action by the international community with continuous support to help them preserve the dignity. >> [speaking native language] there are 80,000 people foresaid of their homes there are 52 mass graves in greece. translator: these are the demands of the community.

>> with the international protection with the legal procedures to protect them with the u.n. guarantees. >> [speaking native language] >> referring to those who have committed the crimes and other minorities through the following steps. >> [speaking native language]

translator: referring to the file with the international treatment of the courts of the u.n. security council that could be presented by the united states based on article 13 be of the statutes forget international courts on the basis of the fact united states has recently decided that isis is committing genocide. >> the critical point for accountability when i first heard from the panelist of the other challenges that they have experienced from other communities on the ground then we will talk about the steps to be taken

to making you share your reflections with iraq and syria? >> good morning to all of you ever like to take this opportunity to think the state department in particular and a the berkeley center to put this forum together. i was part bovet a delegation to visit our communities in northern iraq that two months past had undergone all of the atrocities and what i saw was a great loss of hope not

only their homes and properties but a great loss of confidence in the system at that time the question is that made up the communities to help the christian population which historically is the indigenous people of the country were living in tents provided by a their christian ngos from the western countries what i experienced is of people that were broken ledges spiritually but materially but had no future to look towards looking into the eyes of little children are

remember speaking with a young christian couple one month before they had to flee that was devastating so what impresses me and the churches better working on a the ground is that humanitarian aspect the fact there really there is a our appreciation of human life that is the greatest loss that the people are suffering. all the christian community is of friends and brothers and are considered minorities so if you use that in the eastern context it is not necessarily a good thing we should keep that in

mind the rally our communities two years after the tragic event are still in survival mode which is not good for any community to live under for the extended period of time. >> i think that notion to be in survival mode not know what is coming next is no sense of future eric is a cultural loss when they seek a future elsewhere but you are on the ground those two have been displaced live for solute to get the realities.

>> i agree completely but i would like to add something i am going to tell you briefly the of back to reality. for example, to talk about housing for example, to be displaced in 2004 to be displaced from losel --

mosul but now jordan and lebanon and turkey and outside of those countries they cannot go back because of the situation so go back so you can see those signs of housing one part is living in containers that the church does provided a very small container for those families to be in a

very small container so the church with the help of the international ngos provided the houses for families and sometimes the family so maybe 2025 people end to provide by those events to

pay for rent for the houses by themselves so regarding the of food problem with the other ngos provided but some of these ngos don't have an urgent need. but health care is the big issue and we provided through the health center

with the health issue that all muslims, not muslims that they receive every day about 500 patients and where we distribute so this is a big issue and to the problem of the work and where they pay for the rental house and others.

but everybody knows a huge quantity but that was very difficult for people to see many families has no working and their resources so they cannot pay more for their rent or the operation. they cannot pay for their medicines. and of those to go to work in kurdistan, nobody pays

for them because nobody has money to pay. but i am going to say that recently at the university that we can resolve the problem s soon as possible. for those who have health problems they have to buy all medicines between 500 or

$1,500 monthly we have a huge timber of people affected we wanted to make an with those registrations for them with those 92 cases of cancer. and then we set up mobile clinics. to find out thousands of christians in jordan or

lebanon. >> if you have not seen those containers it is fair to say this stage is about the size of the containers as far as length an entire family is living in small quarters like best also certain camps where people are living in tents. that is especially true out to areas up north and that is two years later very basic conditions for these communities. with the ongoing physical threats 3700 women being held by the islamic states talking about that the emotional toll in despair what has happened to these communities and i wonder many people wanted to stay in iraq and they still want

to stay in iraq. so many family members have left so about that challenge that there is a few opportunities some are concerned if that means they are ending their community with those challenges. >> the thing is one thing that they try to do as an expression to keeping our ties to the homeland last year when we had our patriarch after this band of 83 years he came back to iraq and for us that was a significant you meant the

design to try to give hope to our faithful and fellow christians and all minorities that are suffering to say even though the direction that going back there are struggles and a lot of things that people are facing but still for those people all over we have thousands of families of different denominations but the question is really how to convince them because at the end of the day it is a moral decision obviously the churches don't want the people to leave but how do we convince them to stay? it is in just a patriarch to save you have to there has

to be infrastructure to provide them with the basic human and family needs to allow them to stay for broke there is a lot that needs to be done in collaboration and to read a whole. and in the plains region. going to the various camps that fatherhood mentioned. this sentiment was if we get the peace and we will leave tomorrow morning we will not stay. how do you give hope to be tied to the homeland?

any one government or church or agency has the answer to that giving people hope practically jobs instability people are worried about security even if isil leaves will another group come in? >> that is a good segue as they sent a letter if the land is not fully liberated if that isn't alienated with the existence of a strong government if it is not secured it is very difficult for christians to survive in iraq. so what are the conditions to give people hope and to

make people feel secure? very few people are returning home. as they controlled the claims to make it possible for christian communities to return home. what are the threats for them to return home? >> i cannot explain everything. and of the government of the international cortex you can

choose this. with mosul indirectly have to make that resolution of the united states government will secure the united nation to action to change out or translate the case to open the case. so you have to push the iraqi government to limit

the organization with the iraqi government to open that case as it comes to iraq and i think. >> but to save more than 3,773. so they don't have anything.

after the deliberation. >> [speaking in native tongue] translator: the iraqi government together with the government of kurdistan finds no way to liberate. >> yes. >> [speaking in native tongue] translator: and the iraqi government must choose.

>> [speaking in native tongue] translator: in order to protect the minorities and they must integrate with all government institutions. to ensure such a catastrophe would not be repeated again. in those that have been displaced how are -- or brushing out -- brought out for those who live outside the land.

5,000 refugees are in greece. >> [speaking in native tongue] translator: we are calling on the united states and the european union to offer a way for the refugees to go to europe or america and to start construction. >> so for you the major requirements for people to feel they can go home is in regards to security forces for international protection for calling for accountability?

you also spoke of the importance of the constitutional protection in the future of iraq process finding a way for people to seek refugee status what your thoughts and what it means to create safe conditions? >> the future or the hope means what will happen on the ground for christians. there is the international force to bring them to their houses. that is concerning but the most important thing is to talk about that period post

isis that is the most important thing. to help us to stay in our land means if they are liberated to talk about christians there should be documentation and presentation of the crime of genocide against the villages minorities. -- religious minorities. so thank you for that declaration of genocide so we are waiting for the same declaration.

>>. >> with the safety and peace for minorities after liberation we don't act as christians anymore to be ended the two belligerent the custody as we were before. but if he is the christians that are governed not by christians but by a others and by the government itself so that should help those citizens.

>> i will say something. yes. so that is why as other christians ask for the international protection we cannot attract more of the iraqi government or the iraqi army officially after what happened. of these religious minorities as a gift will be demand for the criminal investigation to participate in the genocide against minorities. so we cannot accept for

those that govern of a country the christians had suffered for a long time and that was most dangerous and isis. historical with the issue is very important as a result during the saddam hussein's government and will continue after 2003 by the government's place in order to realize the region for

other minorities. not christians if you go to christian cities and villages to see how the government did their best pushing them out of the city's so we know what happened in 2009 and just for one time we had the problem every day and we have the same problems that is why the people left iraq.

>> it was so common in the conversations if we're leading to the deep distrust by many of the minority communities and also when isis was attacking given the fact there are minority communities and given the fact that many christians from mosul and those referred to their arab brothers to feel a deep distrust towards who are their neighbors also the political actors that were to be entrusted to protect

them. how do you tackle that to create an environment with reconciliation but political guarantees of protection? what is the role of religious leaders in the process? >> we tested upon a very important aspect which is dialogue. there is a lot of talk going on with government agencies but i don't think there is dialogue or the difference between talking worse speaking or dialoguing. and all of those that are speaking their look for a

common solution to a common problem. so maybe forming some sort of a council by those religious and ethnic minorities that are affected from isis is a practical step that not only can they speak together or understand each other then they can make those claims before those agencies on the ground. so to have a formal council for lack of a better term brings the minorities together of what they want to do and their needs. but a true in gauging and sincere dialogue with the governmental agencies.

>>. >> we answer this question earlier but let me answer. >> [speaking in native tongue] translator: it is all about changing the look of by iraq and to make a decision. >> we have answered this point before. >> also let the domestic level there has been those that they're not prosecuting cases.

and then we will open it to questions in the audience. the announcement of the united states and you are welcome it isn't enough so that sentiment and all of you have expressed in with that same increasing home and we're very happy for what has happened but this declaration reminds in we need to realize that.

so i am sure from those same declaration from the iraqi government in the will continue if not protect us. for the people who persecuted us many of them were our neighbors. so how could we continue living in peace with them? they're christian as we forgive them. in to be affected for the

old country so that is how we go on with the minorities and others i just want to add that because of we're going to live in their cities were a kind of solutions? there are many solutions one was to make a demand for minorities but but the other solution to have our self

governance has christians but i never so so the people should be a questions were noncredit christians -- or non christians were to be elicited by the citizens. by christian citizens to resolve the issue that had to happen for many years. and then deeply to work with them that we won our house to be our own house.

i cannot accept others to be in my house without my permission. end with the minorities and then we continue to put that together some images help the audience understand. so who are those responsible for the towns and communities you're talking about? >> so the council of mosul we have representative with them that they are working and trying to do their best.

and that he is doing his best. ever those christian politicians they meet many times and to find out a solution. there are a few and others. >> we have about 40 minutes for questions. >> i just want to check.

>> please have questions rather than commons. >> the key very much and with the accountabilities mature. i have two questions. is that what you mean and i also hear that that narrative doesn't contribute to any possibility in the future to make that up possibility if we like get or not. thank you. >> that is directed to your recommendation my?

>> to be more clear with a question. >> refers question you want to govern the city yourself? och home dash if you looked under governance that is scary and dangerous. but the second question of the low -- was about your comment. and your eviction from icc but there was all victims and that is unacceptable. and what about ethnic or other religious entities?

>> if the government could give enough rights that we could feel satisfied we love our country. >> maybe on that question in seven jars city there are others, so what do you anticipate that relationship looks like to secure their own political rights with

the reality of the diversity of the region? >> [speaking in native tongue] translator: to the gentleman's point would present a danger to the states to protect iraq. >> [speaking in native tongue] translator: we are not oppressed or will turn into

a pressing other people but for that area of protection. >> [speaking in native tongue] >> that is part of the coalition with the new laws. >> but i think that the government's for minorities in iraq if they decide that there were many demands for the iraqi government for that same position with

other governments inside iraq. so we think we can have our rights and freedom if we governor self because if we try to be governed by others then refinishes a very small community in iraq so i think it is all right to ask for that back ourselves. >> i just want to clarify what you have said that we may have alluded to that you said the government placed a

mayor to read in your city to not be democratically elected and if he was he could have been christian or muslim city were calling for democracy so all of you can choose to your mayor would be to run the city. is that correct rather than being imposed? is that correct father? >> yes. we need that. >> but you say there was no democracy and the mayor. >> we have many problems. >> that's right. >> just to quickly clarify clarify, there is a democracy that exist a concern about political influence in different parts

and nineveh is a part where the vulnerabilities are exacerbated by the government to resolve that dispute to make that clear other questions? >> think he you very much. and. >> [speaking in native tongue]

translator: is i have comments not just questions and the foundation of the organization with the human-rights committee. >> [speaking in native tongue] translator: talking about the conditions of minorities in iraq and syria. >> because we should have known that this was a sign?

>> [speaking in native tongue] >> we allow that problem to continue until isis came. >> [speaking in native tongue] translator: and all of the critics have said. >> [speaking in native tongue] translator: this international petition is not new just only in iraq. >> [speaking in native tongue] translator: also the crimes of the regime. there has been international protection of iraq in the past and that will happen again. >> [speaking in native tongue]

translator: we in the human-rights community in the parliament have been trying to pass those regulations passed by the old regime but there is no political will. >> [speaking in native tongue] translator: this is the tactic of isis to be the weakness -- the weakest of the ethnic components and

with the other minorities. we want iraq to become part of the signatory. >> [speaking in native tongue] translator: with the iraqi constitution and article 125 they're entitled to protection of the others.

>> i need to comment on this subject. >> [speaking in native tongue] translator: with the membership of the statutes of the international courts in the iraqi government and in a big commitment to join in rome. in these are some of the methods. >> [speaking in native tongue] there is no way out that

iraq would cooperate by the age national -- international courts. and we are hoping they will pass that measurement. >> thanks for the comment as minorities continue not to be a priority in terms of addressing their very real concerns around constitutional challenges if there is a legal protection. i will ask for other questions. >> i am with lot and liberty trust i just got back from iraq last night where it is said the liberation of mosul is imminent. one of the things most minorities