Syriac delegation visits US Congressional Offices to advocate for Syria’s pluralism and human rights

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A delegation of Syriac-American and religious freedom advocates recently conducted a focused advocacy effort on Capitol Hill, engaging with a wide range of US Senate and House offices to raise awareness about critical human rights concerns in Syria.

Representatives from the American Syriac Union (ASU), Enduring Faith, and independent international religious freedom advocates visited 22 congressional offices over the course of last week, conducting a mix of in-person meetings and policy outreach to deliver key recommendations.

The delegation, led by Robert Juhanon (ASU), Bassam Ishak (Enduring Faith), and Martha Hudson, engaged with congressional staff and advisors to ensure that any US policy shift regarding Syria — particularly in the context of potential sanctions relief — is firmly conditioned on respect for human rights and religious freedom.

The visits were aimed at giving voice to the concerns of Syria’s vulnerable communities. The delegation stated that the future of Syria’s pluralistic society depends on genuine reforms — not on policies that could unintentionally strengthen extremist forces.

The delegation’s policy dossier outlined three urgent priorities:

1. Community-Based Policing: Police forces in Syria must be locally accountable and composed of members from the respective communities they serve.
2. Constitutional Reform for Equal Citizenship: The Syrian constitution must be reformed to guarantee equal rights for all citizens, eliminating discriminatory provisions such as religious barriers to the presidency.
3. Prevention of Extremist Resurgence: With ISIS and other extremist groups attempting to regroup, U.S. sanctions relief should be contingent upon concrete steps to counter jihadist activity and prevent demographic engineering against Christian and Alawite populations.

Recent alarming developments — including extremist leaflets targeting Christians with threats of forced conversion or payment of religious taxes — underscore the urgency of these concerns. The delegation said “We call on Congress to make the protection of Syria’s diverse communities a core principle of American policy. Through a series of meetings and visits across 22 congressional offices, the delegation provided lawmakers and staff with this critical perspective at a pivotal moment for US engagement with Syria.