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| Congressman Hill receives the 2019 Congressional Champion award from the president of In Defense of Christians (IDC), Toufic Baaklini (pictured right) and Government Relations Director, Peter Burns (pictured left). |
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Recently, Congressman French Hill (AR-02) received In Defense of Christians' (IDC) 2019 Congressional Champion award for his "extraordinary commitment to the human rights and religious freedom of Christian and other religious minority communities in the Middle East." Specifically, IDC highlighted Congressman Hill's work in support of Coptic Christians through his legislation H.Res.49, expressing support for Coptic Christians and religious liberty in Egypt.
“All people around the world, regardless of their religious affiliation, deserve the same freedom to practice their chosen religion that we enjoy in the United States," said Congressman French Hill. "The respect for human rights and religious freedom is a fundamental American position, and I am honored to be a champion in promoting this issue for Coptic Christians, and all Egyptians who take their water from the Nile."
"Congressman Hill has been a voice for people who are rarely heard and a strong friend to people who have few protectors," said Toufic Baaklini, President of IDC. "As a Member of Congress, he has encouraged his colleagues to support legislation that provides aid, recognition, and justice for communities who suffer violence and harassment for their faith in a region plagued by war, persecution, and genocide."
Background:
On January 16, 2019, Congressman Hill introduced a resolution, H.Res.49, expressing support for Coptic Christians and religious liberty in Egypt. The full text of H.Res.49 can be found HERE.
H.Res.49 acknowledges the importance of the United States-Egypt partnership in advancing our common interests, recognizes Egypt’s need for certain government reforms, and calls on the Egyptian government to end the culture of impunity and make examples by arresting, prosecuting, and convicting those responsible for attacks on Christians. It also calls on the government to hold those local government officials accountable who fail to enforce the law.
On April, 9, 2019, Congressman Hill sent a letter to President Trump ahead of his meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, calling on him to raise concerns about the plight of Christian minorities in Egypt. The full letter can be found HERE.
About In Defense of Christians:
In Defense of Christians (IDC) is a non-profit and non-partisan human rights and advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C. IDC advocates for a Middle East in which the rights of every person are protected and respected regardless of religious creed, and in which the ancient and diverse Christian and other religious minority communities of the Middle East thrive peacefully in their native lands.
