World Council of Arameans (Syriacs) (Syriac:ܚܘܝܕܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ ܬܒܝܠܝܐ,romanized: Ḥuyōdō Suryōyō Tbelōyō),[1] previously known as theSyriac Universal Alliance, is an international non-governmentumbrella organization. It aims to "protect and secure the rights, liberty and equality of theAramean people, safeguard and promote the cultural heritage of its ancestors, ensuring justice, and uniting all its people as a self-determined and internationally recognized Aramean nation."[2] Its membership consists of several national associations, representing Arameans from various countries around the world.[3][4] The position of the SUA/WCA president is regarded as representative within Aramean/Syriac community.[5] Since 2009, the organization is presided by Johny Messo.[6]
The organization was founded in on 16 July 1983, inNew Jersey, as theSyriac Universal Alliance (SUA), on the initiative of theAmerican Aramaic Association and theSwedish Syriac Federation. It was later joined by several other Aramean organizations from various countries. In 1999, SUA was given aSpecial Consultative Status by theUnited Nations Economic and Social Council.[7][8][9]
From 1999 to 2002, the organization was presided by Habib Afram (b. 1954), an Aramean/Syriac politician fromLebanon.[10] He was succeeded by Gabriel Marawgeh, an Aramean/Syriac politician fromSweden, who represented SUA at the conference ongenocide against Aramean people, held on 6 November 2007 inBrussels, under auspices of theEuropean Parliament.[11]
Under the presidency of Johny Messo, the organization intensified its support for the notion ofAramean continuity, and also for the promotion of Arameandom (Oromoyutho),[12] primarily among those whoself-identify as Arameans, but some wider concepts are also advocated. On several occasions, representatives of SUA/WCA stated that some otherAramaic-speaking communities of theNear East, such as modernAssyrians and modernChaldeans, should also be viewed asArameans,[13] thus advancing a pan-Aramean narrative, that provoked reactions from other communities.
Representatives of SUA/WCA have criticized the policy ofArabization that was affecting both linguistic and ethnic identity of Arameans and other non-Arab communities in someArab countries, particularly inSyria.[14]
In 2011, as a result of cooperation between SUA and theCouncil of Europe, an educational program was initiated under the name "1st Aramean Young Leadership Programme: The Road to the Future".[15]
In 2012, the official name of the organization was changed toWorld Council of Arameans (Syriacs).[16] The new name was adopted in order to emphasize and promote Aramean identity, but the traditionalSyriac designation was also kept as a symbol of continuity.[17][18][19]
In 2015, WCA had an active role in manifestations commemorating centenary (1915-2015) ofgenocides committed by theOttoman Empire against variousChristian communities in the Near East.[20]
The WCA delegation participated at the "Third International Conference on the victims of ethnic and religious violence in the Middle East" that was held inBrussels on 14 May 2018, under auspices ofBelgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[23][24]
^Atto 2011b, p. 198: "Among theSyrianska elite, especially those individuals who are personally active in theSyrianska secular organizations tend to perceive the president of SUA (Syriac Universal Alliance) as the person in charge of the 'amoSuryoyo. Consequently, on the local level they identify withSyrianska organizations which are connected to SUA."
Bakker-Kellogg, Sarah (2015). "Ritual sounds, political echoes: Vocal agency and the sensory cultures of secularism in the Dutch Syriac diaspora".American Ethnologist.42 (3):431–445.doi:10.1111/amet.12139.
Bakker-Kellogg, Sarah (2019). "Perforating Kinship: Syriac Christianity, Ethnicity, and Secular Legibility".Current Anthropology.60 (4):475–498.doi:10.1086/705233.hdl:1874/386369.S2CID224800760.
Smyth, Phillip (2012). "Syria's 31 Percenters: How Bashar Al-Asad Built Minority Alliances and Countered Minority Foes".Middle East Review of International Affairs.16 (1):25–42.ProQuest1189391617.
.svg)
