Carl Anderson to outline steps to end persecution of Christians in the Middle East

Contact: Andrew Walther, 203-824-5412, andrew.walther@kofc.org; Joseph Cullen, 203-800-4923, joseph.cullen@kofc.org; both with Knights of Columbus 

NEW YORK, April 27, 2016 /Christian Newswire/ -- Knights of Columbus CEO Carl Anderson will be among leading experts gathering at the United Nations this week to examine and help bring an end to the persecution of Christians worldwide.

Anderson will take part in a panel on Thursday, April 28, and will discuss the ongoing genocide in the Middle East and the steps that can be taken to end it. That session is sponsored by the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations. Focusing on "protecting victims of persecution and fostering religious freedom worldwide," the panel will be held in the UN's Economic and Social Council Chamber.

Archbishop Bernardito Auza, the Holy See's Permanent Observer to the UN, will open the session with remarks at 10 a.m. Anderson will speak on the first panel. That panel will also include Swedish Member of the European Parliament Lars Adaktusson, who initiated the European Parliament resolution condemning the mass murder of religious minorities by ISIS as genocide, and Thomas Farr, director of the Religious Freedom Project at Georgetown University and an IDC board member.

Since 2014, the Knights of Columbus has raised more than $10.5 million to aid victims of religious persecution in the Middle East since 2014. It has also worked to raise awareness of the ongoing genocide, including via a petition drive urging the US State Department to declare a genocide. The petition drew nearly 150,000 signatures in the days prior to Secretary of State John Kerry's March 17 declaration in favor of a genocide designation.

The Knights also produced a nearly 300-page report that included an exhaustive chronicle of the evidence of genocide against Christians in the region. The report was requested by the U.S. State Department and proved helpful in their determination that genocide was occurring in the region. These efforts were conducted with the help of IDC.

The UN Event is launching the International Congress #WeAreN2016 that is being held in New York from April 28 to 30 and focusing "on defending religious freedom and other human rights: stopping mass atrocities against Christians and other believers." The events will include input from the victims of atrocities in Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, Nigeria and other countries. The three day congress is being organized by CitizenGo and MasLibres and is co-sponsored by In Defense of Christians (IDC).

More information on the conference is available at www.wearen.org 

More information on the Knights of Columbus is available at www.kofc.org