William Warda (Syriac: ܘܠܝܡ ܘܪܕܐ) is an Iraqi–Assyrian journalist and human rights campaigner. He is a former leading member of Iraq's Assyrian Democratic Movement.
William Warda | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1961 |
| Occupation(s) | politician, journalist, and human rights activist |
| Movement | Assyrian nationalism |
Career edit
Warda was born in Mosul, Iraq in 1961 and studied civil engineering at the University of Mosul. He joined the Assyrian Democratic Movement (Zowaa) in the early 1990s. In 2000 he became the editor-in-chief of the newspaper Bahra and the CEO of Ashur TV in Dohuk.[1]
In 2005, Warda and his wife, Pascale Warda, led in the founding of the Hammurabi Human Rights Organization, a non-profit group that monitors and opposes human rights violations against members of Iraq's minority groups. Since 2015, Warda has served as chairman[2] of the Alliance of Iraqi Minorities, a coalition of civil society groups working to forge better cooperation among Iraq's disparate, and often divided,[3] minority communities—including Assyrian Christians, Shabaks, Mandaeans, Yarsanis (Kaka'is), Baha'is, Faili Kurds and Yazidis.[4] He is also the webmaster of a number of websites including christiansofiraq.com.[5]
In 2019, the U.S. State Department awarded William and Pascale Warda one of its inaugural International Religious Freedom Awards.[6]
Personal life edit
William Warda and Pascale Warda, the former minister of Immigration and Refugees in the Iraqi Interim Government, have two daughters, Shlama and Neshma.[7]
References edit
- ^ Motivation for the awarding of the press freedom prize “city of Siena-isf” sixth editionto the colleagues Selwa Zako and William Warda, Information Safety and Freedom
- ^ "Combating ISIS and Protecting Minority Groups in Iraq | C-SPAN.org". www.c-span.org. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
- ^ "The Long Road Back for Iraq's Minorities". War on the Rocks. 2018-03-12. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
- ^ "Alliance of Iraqi Minorities Network (AIM) | Sanad for Peacebuilding". Retrieved 2019-08-14.
- ^ Promoting human rights in Iraq, British embassy in Iraq
- ^ "International Religious Freedom Award Winners". United States Department of State. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
- ^ حوار مع الاستاذ وليم وردا, Zowaa.org
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