The March 24-26 Zurich Congress has announced, in its concluding statement, the establishment of the International Organization for the Defense of the Rights of Minorities and Women in the Middle East and North Africa.

The organization will be based in Zurich, and founding committee members include Professors Shaker Al-Nabulsi, Sa'd Al-Din Ibrahim, and Awadh Shafik.

The statement read: "The sufferings of minorities and of women, both in the Middle East and in North Africa, are an integral part of all that [these regions'] peoples endure. The explanation for these sufferings is the lack of democracy and of human rights, the tyranny exercised by majorities, and the accelerated growth of religious fanaticism. This was confirmed to the founders [of the organization] by a series of reports by the representatives of various minorities. It is thus proven that political despotism and theocracy – which are two sides of the same coin – menace the rights of minorities, of peoples, and of women.

"It is for this reason that we are working in concert for the establishment of modern civil states in our societies, and are conducting the struggle for the propagation of democratic culture, liberties, human rights, and respect for national, religious, linguistic, and denominational diversity, on the basis of total equality, and in the absence of any discrimination, with the active participation of all in managing the affairs of our countries….

"The founders have agreed to proceed in the establishment of an international organization for the defense of the rights of minorities and of women, both in the Middle East and in North Africa, with the aim of consolidating [mutual] understanding and cooperation among the various minorities in order to confront the injustices to which they are subjected…"

Source: Coptsunited.com, March 31, 2007