August 6th marks the tragic third anniversary of Iraqi Christians’ exodus and genocide under the Islamic State during its assault on Iraq’s second biggest city Mosul and its adjacent territories, including the Nineveh Plains, historical homeland of Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrian people. 

Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrian people have repeatedly asked for international recognition of their suffering and identity by creating a real status for Nineveh Plains as full autonomy under the Iraqi legislation. Reconstruction and restoration of Nineveh Plains towns, villages, infrastructure and providing basic services are essential and vital for the return of the population. The Iraqi government with the assistance of international actors and civil society organizations should empower the presence of minorities in Iraq by creating a space of tolerance and multi-cultural environment.

A recent international conference in the European Parliament highlighted the future of Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrian people of Iraq with the presence of political parties, religious leaders and representatives from the EU and U.S. The final declaration of the conference put clearly the demands of Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrian people, saying that “We demand the creation of a governorate for our Chaldean/Syriac/Assyrian people along with the other ethnic and religious indigenous components of the area on an administrative and geographic basis according to the 1957 general census, provided that the governorate has the right to develop into a region in accordance with article 119 of the Iraqi Constitution.” Also adding “The Nineveh Plain Governorate is the combined unified area of the districts of Baghdede (Hamdaniya), Tel Kaif and a part of Shekhan/Al-Shikan, including sub- districts and villages. The Nineveh Plain Governorate will be under governance of its own population, based upon the pre-2003 demography, and will see no presence of political militias of other Kurdish, Shi’a or Sunni political factions. Nor shall these factions usher political control in Nineveh Plain. This consensus can be confirmed by the interim Nineveh Council (described below), Baghdad and Erbil.” And finally as the Iraqi constitution allows  in Article 119 “One or more governorates shall have the right to organize into a region based on a request to be voted on in a referendum submitted in one of the following two methods…”

Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrian people are indigenous people of Iraq and one of the oldest groups that continuously existed in the whole Levant region. A long term and viable solution for Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrian people is to empower them politically and constitutionally in order to re-establish their true place with the cultural and social fabric that they have contributed to immensely. Survival of Chaldean-Syriac-Assyrian people and other ethnic and religious groups can change dramatically the deadlock Iraq and the whole region currently is in.