american history tv primetime continues tonight with a look at 1964 presidential campaign of barry goldwater. it begins at 8:00 eastern with "the contenders," a two-hour discussion. life and career of the republican nominee. at 10:05 p.m. eastern, barry goldwater's nomination acceptance speech and at 10:50, a look at his role in the conservation move president in the 1950s and '60s. the c-span radio app makes it easy to continue to follow 2016 election wherever you are. it's free to download from the apple app store or google play. get audio coverage and up to the minute schedule information for c-span radio and c-span television plus podcast times for our popular public affairs, book and history programs. stay up to date on all the election coverage. c-span's radio app means you always have c-span on the go.

>> david saperstein is the state department's ambassador at large for international religious freedom. he spoke at an event hosted by georgetown university's religious freedom project here in weeksy where he highlighted the efforts of his department in providing aid and support to displaced communities escaping the threat of isis. >> ladies and gentlemen, i'm honored to introduce to you the man who heads the american effort to advance international religious freedom. ambassador at large david

saperstein. ambassador saperstein is the fourth person to hold this vitally important position which was created by the international religious freedom act of 1998 or as we refer to it as the erfa. the erfa requires the government of the united states to advance religious freedom in its foreign policy. the ambassador and his office at the state department are the executive agents of that policy as we say stops with them. the ambassador for religious freedom is confirmed by the senate. he is the official charged with carrying out u.s. policy, the one who travels the world representing the united states, its government and its people to defend those persecuted for their religious beliefs and to advance the institutions and

habits of religious freedom. ambassador saperstein was confirmed by the senate in december 2014 and assumed his duties on january 6th, 2015. prior to becoming ambassador at large he served for 40 years as the director of the religious action center of reformed judaism. overseeing the national social justice programming for the largest segment of american your, a rabbi and an attorney for 35 years rabbi saperstein taught seminars and first amendment church and state law and in jewish law here at georgetown university law school, law center. in 1999 david saperstein was elected by his peers as the first chair of the u.s. commission on international religious freedom, a separate and independent body also

created by the erfa charged, among other things, with producing policy recommendations on this issue for the president and the congress and the department of state. when ambassador -- when david became the first chair. commission back if i guess it was 1998 or '99 is when i met him. i quickly came to have a deep respect and affection for this man. he is savvy. persuasive, courageous. most importantly he's a man of his word. as ambassador he has adopted an aggressive travel schedule to visit the dins of persecution. to urge governments to stop persecution and advance religious freedom and to give hope to the persecutor. david saperstein played an instrumental role in ensuring that the united states government made the correct

decision and declared what is happening in iraq and syria as genocide. i was proud to support him in the position he now serves with such distinction, and i'm proud to call him friend. ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the u.s. ambassador for international religious freedom, the honorable david saperstein. [ applause ] >> well, it's an honor to hold this position, tom, and it's honored to be here to address this distinguished group of leaders. i will say in the entire work since i have been part of it from the beginning, the three constants >> all of my work have been tom farr, frank wolf and chris smith, two of whom are here today, and they are both great heros in the cause for religious freedom so thank you for what you do. and i want to thank the

religious freedom project at the berkeley center for co-sponsoring this meeting today and part of our ongoing and productive partnership with you, tom, and with rfp. the project does serious work, and today we are talking about the most serious of topics, so your excellencies, your graces, fellow ambassadors, ladies, gentlemen and i can say with a great deal of pride a lot of friends in this room, i am deeply honored to be here. many of you have risked your lives to help victims of dash violence. while many others have spent your lives fighting against a hateful ideologies of intolerance from fueled daesh's rise. what you have done against many vital ways by forging interreligion to promote human rights, tolerance and peace, both here in the united states and across the globe and in the

near east. too many of you are victims of daesh or groups like it. as we all know on march 17th secretary of state john kerry, who cares about this issue deeply made the historic announcement that in his judgment daesh, and i'm quoting now, daesh is responsible for genocide in groups in areas under its control, including yidsies, christians and shia muslims. he said that daesh is, quote, also responsible for crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing directed at these same groups and in some cases against sunni muslims, kurds, other minorities. and he put it plainly when he said daesh's genocidal by self-proclamation, by ideology and by its actions in what it says, what it believes, what it does. the fact is that daesh kills

christians because they are christians. yazidis because they are yazidis and shia because they are shia. a report to congress. we deservedly describe daesh's abuses in the starkest terms we could. not a terribly difficult task given the heinous atrocities daesh continues to perpetrate against so many. amongst those we named were unlawful forced displace president, forced religious conversions, slavery, kidnapping, trafficking, sexual violence, resulting in wide scale fatalities and injuries, victims including women and children come from across the spectrum of ethnic and religious groups, including yazidis, sunni muslims, shia muslims,

christians, turkimen, shabiat, kakai among others. daesh has used public beheadings and other forms of summary executions, kidnapping, rape, forced marriage and sexual slavery, employed child soldiers from amongst its open recruits as well as captured children. daesh alsoance this to attack places of worship, schools and public assessments. european parliament, the council of europe parliamentary assembly and others have helped focus full global attention on the plight of religious and ethnic minorities under daerks but these must become more than just statements. there must be actions to implement the goals that all of us share in common. secretary kerry in a statement challenged the world to, quote, find the resources to help those

armed by these atrocities and last week's pledging conference, and this conference of the delegations from 30 countries and international organizations gathered today and then in a closed meeting tomorrow or focus on producing those financial and political and programmatic resources. so at the conference last week. an additional $590 million was pledged for humanitarian assistance and $350 million pledged for critical stabilization efforts. under the new u.n. program the financial facility, for immediate stabilization, their is 25 million pledged and for the new program, the mid-length program here, the -- the

financial facility for expanded stabilize, the united states began the pledging with $50 million of its own with many promising that they would come back with the plejts from their country and 200 million already pledged in 2017 and 2018 and much more to come. 80 million just for the de-fining that is so. so are cop convenience these meetings today and tomorrow try to answer that call. to find ways to relose religious and ethnic minorities in iraq and syria and what we're learned from the conversations we've already had and the rich conversations promised in the rest of the afternoon here will be vital to our deliberations tomorrow. we are deeply appreciative. i have to say, tom, where is tom? he is right here. i have to say, tom, that you folks do great conferences. this really has been one of the

most fascinating, rich and fruitful conversations that i've been part of, and i really want to thank you for the extraordinary effort that you have done. state department and special advisers for religious minorities in the near east and south central ail somewhat, as it was explained early this morning. spain and jordan as a follow up to the french -- let former minister laurent fabian and to be clear we're concerned about all who have suffered under daesh's rein of terror and at the same time this conference represents, we recognize a potential existential threat that daesh presents to minority communities. we've seen so much forces at work in iraq. the yazidi christian and some. shyial countries are under

enormous pressure to survive. there were struggles daily under daesh's efforts at ethnic cleansing. some virtually extinction in their homeland. we garret to fight for regular -- support it because it's a core fundamental human right and also because respect for religion freedom is instrumental to peace and security around the world no. nation can fulfill its potential if its people are denied the right to exercise their freedom of religion or belief, for can it have the sine qua non for peace, advancement and democratization. nation as driven by sectarian division, sectarian violence, and if members of some groups

simply because of their religious identity or practices are declared functionally or by law to be second class citizens. all that does is drive religious life underground resulting in frustration, despair and anger, providing fertile ground with seeds of violent extreme can be sowed and followers recruited and supported. and furthermore, as this conference illustrates just looking around the room and listening to the diverse views from the questions and comments from the floor, this gathering testifies to the power of what happens when people of different backgrounds, different perspectives, different identities come together with a common purpose as a richness of america's contribution to the world. this nation that sociologists tell us embodies 2,000 different religions, denominations, faith

groups, sects all across america. and our ability to live together in comity and to forge common interfaith approaches to the problems that face us is a rich model for others. but we do so not just by its effectiveness because of the fundamental reality that in any country, in any society, if any group can be persecuted then all are endangered. there cannot be safety and security for the religious freedoms of some groups if others are denied, and that requires sometimes compromises of how to proceed together. finding common ground, even amongst our differences. now tragically daesh and other violent extremist groups in iraq and syria continue to target members of religious and ethnic minorities with violence. women from all communities in daesh-occupied areas are subject

to severe restrictions on freedom of movement, employment and dress, often trapped indoors out of fear for personal safety. sunni muslims who disagree with these terrorist extremist religious interpretations to justify their blood-thirsty power seeking have also suffered barbaric violence. throughout the areas controlled by daesh, religious, cultural and historical sites affiliated with people of many faiths and cultures have been systematically looted and destroyed. the latter abuses lead to daesh selling priceless antiquities, to restock their coffers. in response, we are pursuing multiple efforts to assist minority communities including documentation of atrocity support for efforts aimed at accountability, for person traitors of this unlawful violence, services for survivors of gender-based violence, preservation of cultural heritage and inclusive peace building. we want to help recreate the conditions where religious and

ethnic minorities feel confident in their future in iraq and syria. our vision is of a sovereign united iraq in which these historic communities can remain in and return to their ancestral homes in safety, dignity and prosperity and so to our vision is for a none sectarian the demands on the what are we doing to achieve that goal and what progress is being made? so let me list some of the answers to that question? first and foremost, daesh must be defeated and the efforts of the government of iraq, vetted opposition forces in syria, together with the 67-member counter isil coalition are conducting a robust campaign of coordinated air strikes,

military training and assistance and diplomatic engagement and cooperation and messaging coordination to degrade, delegitimize and defeat daesh. the coalition is conducted more than 14,000 air strikes against daesh in iraq and syria, eliminating thousands of its fighters, cutting off key communications hubs and transit routes, significantly weakening daesh's finances. for example, daesh's production of oil has declined by about 30% and indeed their ability to generate revenue in general in areas under their control has been reduced by at least that much. strikes on cash storage sites have destroyed tens of millions of daesh's cash. we've also worked to cut off the illicit sale of antiquities. due to the increasing financial pressure, daesh has reportedly cut its fighter's pay by half in some areas, turned to increasingly arbitrary extortion

rackets to undermine its credibility and increasing desertions. efforts to support iraqi forces military advancement on the ground have resulted in daesh being pushed out for nearly half. territory it once held in iraq about 20% of what it held earlier in syria. we have brought military power to bear -- to assist religious minorities directly as well. two examples that most of you know stand out are air strikes in august 2014 to relieve the siege on mt. sinjar that saved the lives of thousands of yazidis, and the air strikes in march 2015 that enabled a syrian and syrian-kurdish defence forces to reverse a dash advance in the river valley in syria that threatened predominantly syrian christian villages. danger still exists, as all of us know. we've seen it even recently with

the multiple attacks in syria, the most recent in june targeted patriarchic and the head of the seeriac orthodox church, the syrian church of the east bishop in hassakah on the commemoration of an atrocity committed 100 years ago. the attack on the clergy was thingfully unsuccessful but tragically three guards were killed, and in general too many are still suffering. yazidi women and children still held in captivity, millions. idps between the two countries displaced from their homes mourning the lives -- the loss of their loved ones because of daesh's reign of terror, but we're making progress at defeating daesh and pushing them out and liberating territories and mostly yazidi and muslim, majority areas and we look forward to the future liberation of lands belonging to christians and other indigenous communities

and that day is approaching. >> second, even why we need to secure their rights and opportunities we must stabilize the opposition of members of displaced communities whom we are asking to wait until they can safely return. until then they need stability, a quality of life, a feeling of personal security that provides them with the willingness to remain in the country and to return to their homes when they decide to do so. we need to help ensure that their kids have schools to go to, jobs when they graduate and there are economic opportunities for families. we're engaged in efforts to ensure that those who survive daesh's abuse in captivity are provided support, including psychological and health services that they need to recover their resilience as well as the livelihood opportunities to support their families and themselves, to rebuild their lives. we're taking action now through the gender-based violence

emergency response and protection initiative which provides funds for immediate medical, psychological and social support to survivors of gender-based violence including those subjected to daesh's brutal treatment. we acknowledge that these services may not yet have reached the victims in a number of areas, and we're trying all the time to support ngos that are involved in providing these services in much wider areas. this fund is a public/private partnership that can accept contributions from other countries. we're also providing support for implementation of iraq's national action plan on women, peace and security, and one more example. the united states provided $18 million in fiscal year 2015, continuing this year, to the international organization for migration, the iom in iraq, to provide livelihood support for

vulnerable displaced iraqis, conduct rapid response and assessments of newly displaced population, complete community-led programs designed to reduce tensions and enhance integration through its community revitalization program, and i they most of you know the challenges that the displaced communities face in terms. provision of schools for their kids. as part of this program iom has been able to expand and renovate seven primary and secondary schools throughout the iraqi kurdistan region which will -- which will allow thousands of idp and host community children access to -- in education. this is an important start. much more needs to be done in this regard. now, obviously the liberation of mosul will produce enormous new challenges. this was addressed a couple of times in our earlier

conversation through -- and in that challenge, those challenges must be addressed in the planning that is taking place along with the military planning. throughout the region, ngos, humanitarian organizations will need rapid, safe, access to populations in need, especially in iraq and the kurdish reasons. as undp deputy for iraq lee grand has reported the campaign to free mosul from isil control could adversely affect well over a million people in the short term, and this would make it one. largest humanitarian crises of recent times. the kurdistan regional government already hosts to more than a million idps released its plan to support five new idp camps supported by the international community that can house up to 420,000 people. the unhcr is seeking funding now

and anticipates it will work with the krg to build them. they need sufficient resources for all these efforts because, as you know, up until july 20th just last week only 40% of humanitarian needs identified by the u.n.'s 2016 iraq humanitarian response plan were funded as of that day. so we convened the pledging conference for iraq last week here in washington and are following up with its conference focused on restoration of l liberated communities. as i noted last week our international partners pledged over $2 billion gofor humanitarn efforts, demining, stabilization which will help meet the needs of millions of iraqis who have been displaced or otherwise affected by isil violence. including our contribution that we announced last week, the

united states has provided more than 914 million in humanitarian assistance for vulnerable iraqis in iraq and in the region since october 2013. in addition, we have contributed more than 5.1 billion for including 2.8 billion within syria alone to provide emergency food assistance and cash assistance for emergency needs, funding for shelters and much-needed counseling and protection programs to the most vulnerable including children, women, persons with disabilities and the elderly. the result of these conferences will play a central role in closing the gaps between the needs and the resources in iraq. third, the areas liberated from daesh must be stabilized, providing security on which returning residents of all religions and ethnicities can

rely. the coalition has trained more than 31,000 iraqi security forces, undertaken an extensive police training mission under italian leadership to secure the areas liberated from that and to guarantee the safety and security of displace the populations returning from their homes. we are seeking to expand this training program, and as for other coalition partners who contribute to this effort we've also begun training defense forces for minority communities, specifically yazidis and christians so far which will be integrated into the peshmerga and/or other goi forces. fourth, minorities need to feel they have a greater voice in their governance. respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of religion for all religious groups is critical. so is the provision of equal citizenship and equal access to

justice. take just one small but important example which a number of you worked on. iraq has suspended religionly divisive changes in the identification card law and the changes should not be revisited. more broadly, the united states supports arrangements wherein minorities have greater voice over how their communities are governed within a federal governance framework. you are doing this work and we applaud you. the alliance of iraqi minorities. a i.m., one of the shining lights of human rights and good governance, advocatesy in iraq, worked with a minority caucus in the council of representatives to add language begins in the 2012 budget law to provide for a legal foundation for the equitable distribution of funds from iraq's regional and provincial budgets. . a i.m. then worked with provincial councils and

distrukts, subsidies tickets as well as the varied indigenous communities in the interval plane to assure the funds were used in specific public service projects such as health clinics, roads and schools. fifth, recovery. members of displaced communities will not choose to return to their cities and towns if in livelihood opportunities exist there or if the infrastructure and basic services remain devastated. areas liberated from daesh must have functioning infrastructure such as roads, electricity, sanitation, available means for people to support their families. de-mining is absolutely critical if we hope that the different communities will return to their homes. the united states and international community are taking significant steps to continue expanding their support for this daunting task in isil-liberated areas. and in pursuit of addressing

these financial needs, these conferences last week and this week are trying to lay out the resources that would be necessary to help in these recovery efforts. six, it is important to promote accountability for perpetrators of atrocities on all sides. this includes atrocities perpetrated, of course, by daesh as well as by shia militias affiliated with the popular mobilization forces who have committed abuses against civilians after after areas have been liberated from daesh. must also focus on a wide variety of crimes committed. sexual and gender-based violence, mass killings and accountability and transitional justice mechanisms must reflect the needs of victims in communities. one size will not fit all. to knit back together these communities, these efforts must include form-and-and informal

forums of rec sillization and accountability. it will must pursue high-level prosecutions where possible and also address accountability at local and regional and national levels for followers and for leaders. in this effort documentation of acrotrocities is crucial becaust preserves information for future accountability efforts and helps to identify survivor needs and connect with individual services. u.s. government is currently implementing a project that enables iraqi civil society to document violations and abuses, creates protocols and a repository for information gathered and connects document efforts for local and national accountability undertakings. to date, representatives from iraqi civil society organizations that are participating in this project have collected nearly 1,000 narratives from victims and witnesses of atrocities

committed in iraq. many in the ngo community are contributing as well to the compilation of evidence and narratives to help in to help i cause. in syria, the united states supports syria justice and accountability center. one of the premier syrian-led institutions heading this -- leading this documentation effort, sjac works with partners and its team on the ground to collect documentation related to the conflict, including interviews with former detainees that document torture and human detention condition and works directly with survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. another project provides support for the identification, protection, and excavation of mass graves. by collecting information about these sites, we reduce the chances of accidental or purposeful damage to them and provide important forensic

information to hold daesh accountable, especially as the government of iraq and its partners continue to liberate territory from daesh. in addition, we have started to use satellite imagery to look for mass graves behind daesh front lines in syria and iraq. the delegations from abroad who are participating in the conference have photos of some of these satellite pictures in your pacts. seventh, relatedly, to atrocity accountability. the extraordinary tension alluded to in our earlier conversations that will accompany the return of displaced communities to their homes and businesses that have been occupied in some cases by former neighbors, damaged or destroyed during the course of the violence. this must involve transitional justice and reconciliation efforts and other measures to prevent or minimize reprisal violence on all sides. credible, inclusive, judicial,

investigative capacity is critical to give all of those displaced hope that there will be justice. simultaneously, religious and community leaders must take the lead in reconciliation in peacemaking. cycles of violence must end, and it won't happen unless all of us are committed to making that a reality, even as accountability processes are pursued. otherwi otherwise, there will be no m y peace in tend. eighth, daesh has obliterated the historic heritage of the region. the secretary cited this destruction of cultural and religious heritage when he said that daesh was responsible for crimes against humanity. but it is also a crime against history. my office has taken the lead in coordinating efforts in the field. and i commend knox's teams for

his leadership in this regard. and working with the smithsonian institution, we are working with local communities in iraq to help them determine how they can best preserve their religious and cultural heritage, including by preserving churches, shrines, synagogues, mosques. in closing, i want to highlight the new opportunity i mentioned several times to assist minorities after liberation. the creation of the u.n. development program's funding facility for immediate stabilization or ffis, or the funding facility for expanded stabilization, the ffes, these funds restore its central services, provide small grants to businesses, assist local government with recovery, address small infrastructure, medium size infrastructure needs. that includes utilities and the general structures of the communities.

and support reconciliation efforts. these are the fundamental building blocks for communities to thrive. donors have provided a pledge over 200 million from almost 20 partners including more than 32 million pledged by the united states. undp has also created a similar mechanism as i indicated, called ffes. and the difference is that focus is on the midterm assistance program. because you can't just do it for a year if there is not going to be continuity of funding. so we're looking out several years and asking countries to participate in it. in both ffis and ffes, we're working with the united nations so that countries and private donors can provide funds to specific projects for assistance. which can include minority areas to specific sites. we hope that this will bring significant international engagement. with countries feeling a sense of partnership with these local

communities in restoring those communities and making return possible. and that all this will help give minorities confidence that they have a future in ancestral homelands. and that is our message to the international community. it is indispensable that we find the resources to assist all in need, no matter what their faith, no matter what their religious or ethnic identities so that as many as possible will want to stay in their homes and feel confident in their future. so much remains to be done in order to achieve a lasting defeat of this barbaric group, and to ensure that religious diversity survives. as secretary kerry has said, daesh represents barbarism in its purist, most evil form. from the slaughter of minorities to the systematic oppression of women, daesh rejects every civilized norm. but to truly defeat daesh in its message, nothing so vividly or

effectively repudiates daesh's goals or efforts at ethnic cleansing and genocide than to ensure the security of the very people that daesh has targeted. the protection of their human rights and the success of our joint efforts to allow the return of iraq and syria's displaced populations. your excellencies, your graces, my fellow ambassadors, we aspire for all people in the region, regardless of their beliefs, to enjoy universal human rights and fundamental freedoms, including religious freedom. i am proud that we have played a lead role in responding to daesh's atrocities and our dedication to promoting religious freedom, including the rights of members of minority groups in iraq and syria remains strong. but there is much work we must do together. and let's be honest, we all know whatever we have achieved, this

is a very hard undertaking. achieving the goals and implementing the programs described above will not be an easy task. it requires vision, and tenacity if we are to achieve our goals. but that is exactly why we have cause for hope. creativity, vision, and tenacity are not in short supply in this room. the grassroots advocacy and aid work that we have heard about today and we see manifested in this room throughout iraq and syria is having real results. yazidi and christian and turk men and kurdish are coming to the aid of their own in a spirit of selflessness and common cause, calling to an end for discrimination, persecution, and conflict. and calling for political inclusion and reawakening of iraq and syria's historical diversity. we see the work of father benoka

running medical collinings in, of efforts to provide health care, help survivors of gender-based violence, his work in human rights and governance. and strong advocacy for democracy and pluralism in syria and kareem's activism and his faith. and we have seen with the krg's nurturing the rebirth of a small jewish community. in the face of this catastrophe, you and so many others in this room and around the world, together with committed governments in the international community have gathered here this month will make the world listen and attend and respond. so i want to express my sincere gratitude for your efforts in defending pluralism in iraq and syria, and protecting their religious and ethnic minorities and advocating for the enjoyment

of religious freedom for all by members of populations whose voices are too often muted or ignored. thank you all for your significant contributions to a more peaceful, tolerant, and freer near east. it is a model the entire world needs so urgently today. thank you. [ applause ] sunday night on q&a, clifton raphael talks about his students' award winning documentaries, some of which have been grand prize winners at our annual student cam competition. he teaches at jenks high school in jenks, oklahoma. >> i'm not the kind of teacher who will look at something that's not very good and just go oh, that's nice, you did a really nice job with that. i'll say what's not working.

and eventually every single one of my kids makes a better piece than they did in the beginning, every single one of them. and eventually the kids who do really, really well that. >> internalize all this stuff. so i no longer have to say it to them. their own brain is saying these things to them. >> sunday night at 8:00 eastern on c-span's "q&a." while congress is on break this week, we're showing american history tv programs normally seen only on the weekend here on c-span3. coming up, a look at the life and legacy of 1964 presidential candidate barry goldwater. in two hours, his 1964 republican presidential nomination acceptance speech. and that's followed by a look at barry goldwater's impact on america's conservation programs starting in the 1950s.