State Secretary for European Affairs Marija Pejčinović Burić attended the Conference on the Victims of Ethnic and Religious Violence in the Middle East: Protecting and Promoting Plurality and Diversity, held 24 May 2017 in Madrid.
The goal of the conference was to assess progress in the implementation of the so-called Paris Action Plan from 2015 as well as to determine the priorities and identify programmes, projects and measures that could assist the return of displaced persons and initiate stability and reconciliation.
The participants underlined the importance of preserving cultural, religious and ethnic diversity for the stability and progress of the region. They expressed support for the ethnic and religious communities endangered by the so-called Islamic State and stressed the need to carry on with the efforts to prevent the root causes and spreading of terrorism.
In her address, Pejčinović Burić underscored the importance of delivering humanitarian aid to refugees and displaced persons, the need to bring perpetrators to justice and the necessity to protect the religious, ethnic and cultural minorities in the Middle East.
The conference gathered representatives from nearly 70 countries, international organizations and various religious communities.