Contact: Lindsay Vessey, Coptic Solidarity, 801-512-1713, info@copticsolidarity.org

WASHINGTON, May 26, 2015 /Christian Newswire/ -- As the world commemorates the centennial of the Armenian Genocide, Coptic Solidarity will host our 6th Annual Conference in Washington, DC – June 11-12th. The conference theme is 100 Year Later: Middle Eastern Christians Face Another Genocide, focusing on the fate of Christians and other minorities in the same region currently.

The Conference is open by registration to media and the public. It will be hosted at the Capitol Hill Visitor Center on June 11th followed by a program at the Key Bridge Marriot on June 12th. To attend, please register in advance.

On the Policy Day, a bi-partisan slate of US legislators will speak including: Senator Lankford (OK), Co-Chairs of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, Rep. Jim McGovern (MA) and Rep. Joe Pitts (PA), Rep. Albio Sires (NJ), Rep. Brad Sherman (CA), Rep. Diane Black (TN), Rep. Dave Trott (MI), Rep. Louis Gohmert (TX), and Rep. Ted Poe (TX). We will also hear from Baroness Elizabeth Berridge of the UK House of Lords, MP Bob Dechart of the Canadian Parliament, Dr. Katrina Lantos- Swett – Chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom and Mr. David Saperstein – Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, and we will be joined by media leaders such as Judge Jeanine Pirro of FOX News, NGO leaders such as Dr. Zuhdi Jasser of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, and many more. View the list of confirmed speakers>>

Our main topic, imposed by the current situation, will focus on the role of the international community in supporting the Middle East Christians who face genocidal violence by Islamist terrorists. We have seen a dramatic escalating in violence against minority communities in the last year including the beheading of 21 Copts, the murder of 30 Ethiopian Christians, and the kidnapping and murder of thousands of Christians and Yazidis in Iraq, Syria, and the surrounding region. It is critical that we bring together the best minds to create awareness and offer solutions. The international community overall needs to respond adequately to prevent these minority groups from becoming extinct in their ancestral homelands.

Representatives of Middle East minorities will reassess the situation in the Middle East. They will exchange views and develop new strategies in defense of the human rights and community rights of these communities and for all peoples in the region, particularly in light of their joint delegation meetings at the UN Security Council in March 2015 at the invitation of the Presidency of the Council.  

Coptic Solidarity is an organization seeking to help minorities, particularly the Copts, of Egypt and we support those in Egypt working for democracy, freedom, and the protection of the fundamental rights of all Egyptian citizens.  Our international organization has headquarters in the Washington, D.C., area in the U.S., with key branches currently in Canada, France, and Egypt.  Our organization believes that the international community plays a key role in helping ensure the protection and upholding of the rights of religious and ethnic minorities. For more information, contact Lindsay Vessey at 801-512-1713 or info@copticsolidarity.org