Holy See: To Defeat ISIS We Must Learn From Past Errors

FILE - This undated file image posted on a militant website on Jan. 14, 2014, which has been verified and is consistent with other AP reporting, shows fighters from the al-Qaida linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) marching in Raqqa, Syria. Secretary of State John Kerry is to travel to the Middle East this week, with stops in Saudi Arabia and Jordan, to try to line up support for a coalition to take on the extremist Islamic State group. His trip follows Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel’s visit on Monday to Turkey to make the same case to Ankara, a regional heavyweight. Kerry will hold talks with officials from Jordan, Turkey and Egypt, as well as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf nations. (AP Photo/Militant Website, File)

The UN needs to react to “the escalating, ruthless phenomenon of international terrorism” by “urgent[ly] re-enforc[ing] of the international juridical framework of a multilateral application of the responsibility to protect people from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity and all forms of unjust aggression.”

Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations said this, adding: “With lessons learned from our failure to stop recent horrors of genocide and presently confronted with blatant, massive violations of fundamental human rights and of international humanitarian law, the time is for courageous decisions.”

Referring to the abuses committed by the so-called ‘Islamic State’, the archbishop addressed competent UN bodies, urging them to prevent possible new genocides and to assist the increasing number of refugees. The Holy See appealed especially for the minorities, including Christian communities that are being targeted because of their ethnic origins and religious beliefs. “The Holy See insists on the respect of the right of these communities and all the displaced persons to return to their homes and to live in dignity and safety.”  In his speech, Mgr. Auza  talked about support for a nascent Palestinian State, the dramatic situation in Syria, Libya and Iraq and about the response to international terrorism.

VATICAN INSIDER STAFF
ROME