Earlier this week, RFI President David Trimble joined EWTN News Nightly to talk about the bipartisan passage of H.Res.554 by the U.S. House of Representatives. The resolution affirms that upholding the rights and dignity of Iraq’s Christians, Yazidis, and other minority communities should be a policy priority of the United States and the international community.

When asked how Christians in Iraq are responding to this resolution, Trimble stated:

They are encouraged to see Congress taking note of their struggle to survive…but they’re wanting to see more demonstration of engagement and interaction with faith communities there…I think the real value of [H.Res.554] is that it points us back to existing policy mandates across the U.S. government for acting in concert with and on behalf of the faith communities in Iraq. So, there’s encouragement, but there’s a need for action.

RFI’s Jeremy Barker similarly explained to the Kurdistan Chronicle that H.Res.554 reiterates an important U.S. commitment to protecting the fundamental rights of Iraq’s religious and ethnic minorities, but it needs to be “followed by concrete actions to preserve the survival of these communities.”