Petition to the Irish government to offer special assistance to he Iraqi Christans

The targeted persecution of the Christian community in Iraq has accelerated since the takeover of Mosul, Iraq's second city, in June by ISIS and especially since ISIS issued an ultimatum to Christians in Mosul that they convert to Islam, pay a religious tax, leave or face death. The gravity of the situation has been recognised by the French government which, last week, said it was ready to offer asylum to Iraqi Christians forced to flee Mosul. Over the past weekend, a number of bishops in the UK have called on the UK government to follow suit. We call on the Irish government to take urgent action and to play a part, together with our EU partners, in helping Iraqi Christians in this emergency.